Connected Rivers
by Lord PichuPal
Summary: A young, lonely male Floatzel named Kelvin is looking for love and travels to a new home to find it. But once he gets there, he learns there's someone torturing the residents of the forest. With the motivation to set things straight, can Kelvin help put an end to this reign of terror?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Along the shores of the Amadahy River were two forests. The one downstream was adjacent to a place known simply as The Valley, where many different Pokémon lived together in peace and harmony. Likewise for the forest, as most of them living there got along besides the obvious predator-prey relations some had. But really, those mostly existed in the other forest upstream from there. In a much more violent area, where the soft failed to survive. It was a forest where you had to fight for food and shelter or else others would steal it from you. Survival of the fittest shown at its finest.

It was here that a young Floatzel named Kelvin resides, a strong young man aged around 16. He lived alone in the forest, hunting for fish in the river or finding edible berries in bushes. But on rare occasions when he couldn't find his own food, he'd find a Floatzel who did and if all else failed, would fight them for the food. More often than not, it was other Floatzel who go after him for his food or shelter. In those cases, he'd hold his ground and fight them until one was left standing. He lived a sheltered life with no friends despite his friendly attitude and good looks, which helped to attract females and males alike. But none of them were his type; they all just wanted him for how attractive he was. Most of the time, it was just a one-night stand. Kelvin wasn't concerned with their gender, being bisexual, although he tried to keep that under-wraps feeling embarrassed if others knew.

Sighing, he walked along feeling sad again as he headed to the riverside to sit down and relax. "I hate being so alone..." he muttered to himself. "I just wish there was someone out there for me..." He looked out at the flowing water, watching fish swimming by underwater. He wondered if he'd be alone forever, if it were possible for someone to love him, if he were allowed to be loved. These thoughts, always fresh in his mind, haunted him day in and day out, keeping him awake at night and taking his focus off other things. Looking out over the flowing water, his mind started to drift away on him. He laid back against the ground to look up at the sky.

"Get up, you stupid kid!" a distinct voice shouted, startling Kelvin. "Stop being so lazy already, damnit!" Kelvin quickly climbed to his feet to avoid making the much larger Floatzel angrier. To the side, a female Floatzel the size of the male stood with a distressed look on her face, not wanting to get involved.

"You're SUPPOSED to be getting us dinner, you stupid kid! Do you want us all to starve?" the Floatzel shouted. Kelvin looked at the ground and muttered softly, "N-no sir..." From nowhere, the male slapped him hard across the face.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you! Show some respect!" Kelvin looked back up to stare into his eyes. Once he made eye contact, he took another hard slap across the face before he could say anything.

"Sorry sir..." he apologized.

"You better be! Now go find us some food before I get even angrier and beat you again, you lousy good-for-nothing!" shouted the Floatzel. Kelvin scrambled off quickly, not bothering to give a response to him. As he took off, he heard the voice shout at him one more time "If I even so much as SEE you coming back here without food, I'm going to have to beat you SO HARD, boy! Remember that before you even think to return!" Kelvin hurried off faster, hoping to find something soon so that he wouldn't face any more severe consequences.

He spotted an area of the river with some fish swimming in it and decided to try and fish there. Looking into the river, he saw the reflection of his young Buizel body starring back at him, seeing red marks on his face from being slapped so hard. Looking a little longer, he got a picture of what he thought he'd look like if he was a Floatzel himself, and smiled slightly at it. After quickly realizing he had to complete his task, he shook his to get the image out of his head and hopped into the water to hunt down some fish. Swimming at his best, he chased down as many fish as he could and tossed them back up on the shore one at a time. After he'd collected enough, he came to the surface and looked at his load.

"I hope that's good enough to please him," he muttered to himself. "It should be, I worked hard to catch all these fish. I'm sure he'll be happy with me." Smiling to himself, Kelvin climbed out of the river and picked up his small pile of fish then carried them back. As he arrived at his destination again, he cheerfully called out to the waiting Floatzel. "I got the fish like you wanted, I hope it's good enough." The male walked over and examined the fish carefully for a minute.

"Hmm..." said the Floatzel as he examined what the Buizel had brought for him. Then in a sudden change of heart, he slapped the fish out of Kelvin's paws and a stern look appeared on his face. "You call yourself a hunter? This is pathetic! These fish may be good enough for a little girl like you, but I'm a man! These won't fill me up at all!" Kelvin's face turned to shock that at the reaction he received. "But..."

"No buts, you useless punk! Get over here so I can give you proper punishment!" Before Kelvin could even react, the Floatzel had him by the arm and dragged him against his will to a more secluded area where the female wouldn't see them. Kelvin kicked and struggled to no avail, as he couldn't break the strong grip of the male, until he thrust him into a tree.

"I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" he shouted as he swung and punched Kelvin across the face. From there, he continued to beat up Kelvin against the tree, while the female stayed where she was trying to ignore the cries of pain coming from him. After one last shot to the stomach, Kelvin slumped down to the ground, in too much pain to move any longer.

"I hope that'll teach you to make me mad again, you stupid kid!" With that, the male left Kelvin lying on the ground, covered with wounds and marks all over his body. As he drifted off into a state of unconsciousness, he heard the male telling the female something else: "God damn, can you believe he's really our son?"

Kelvin woke up quickly, realizing he'd fallen asleep there by the river. He smacked himself a couple times to wake himself up to snap out of it.

"Ugh... I guess I fell asleep here..." he groaned as he sat back up, noticing it was now evening. "Man do I hate when I have that dream... just glad I don't have to deal with that shit anymore..." Kelvin stood back up and stretched real quick as he looked around, looking for something else to take his mind off it. He walked along the river slowly; looking at the water and watching the fish swim by. Then, something caught his eye, flopping helplessly along the shore. He quickly rushed over to see what it was and kneeled down to get a closer look.

"Huh... this looks like a Carvahna... I don't think I've seen one of these around here before..." he said quietly, in awe of seeing something like this up close. Kelvin reached over to touch, and quickly pulled his paw back after feeling a sharp stinging upon contact. "Ow... I guess that's some kind of self-defense mechanism having prickly skin like that. I'll have to keep that in mind next time." Examining it closer, he noticed the large sharp teeth and thought how vicious this fish must be when it's at full strength. Slowly, the Carvahna stopped flopping as much and Kelvin got an idea of what he could do with it. With his new idea in mind, he rushed off leaving the fish alone.

He walked along through the forest, searching high and low for what he needed. As he adventured through the vast and open landscape, a small band of hunters was fleeing after setting up a trap to catch what they wanted. Up above was a cage they had set up to have drop down and catch the victim, if they were slow enough or not smart enough to avoid it. The hunters were patiently waiting off in the distance at their camp, keeping an ear out for the sound of the cage crashing down to the ground. They discussed amongst each other what they hoped would be found when they went to check on it. In the meantime, Kelvin continued along on his way, unaware of the presence of the hunters. He kept going, when suddenly something caught a hold of his foot. He fell forward and landed on his stomach with a thump. As he turned to look back and find what he tripped on, he noticed something dropping down from the sky.

"What the...?" Kelvin muttered, then quickly dove out of the way just as the cage crashed down. "Whoa... that was close, whatever that thing is..." He got back up to his feet and walked back to check what tripped him, and sees something strung across between the trees. He examines it closer, noticing how strong the thin string is, unaware what it is. "Huh... whatever this thing is, it seems like it'd be good for a necklace..." Quickly he rushed over to one of the trees and untied the string from it, then went to do the same with the other tree. As he picked it up to take back to the Carvahna, he suddenly heard loud footsteps. They didn't sound like anything he'd heard before, which made him uncomfortable and startled him. Without thinking, he fled the area hoping not to be seen. The hunters arrived too late, and were confused why their cage was empty.

"Wait a minute... why is the cage empty? And where's the string that deployed it?" one hunter asked, scratching his head. "Must've been a mouse or something, I guess." Distraught with their failure, they trudged off again to go back where they came from. Meanwhile, Kelvin was a safe distance away and quickly rushed back for the river hoping to see the lifeless Carvahna waiting where he left it still. As he approached the river again where he'd found the fish at, he slowed down not needing to run anymore.

"Oh good, still right where I left it," Kelvin said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Now to try and get some of the teeth out of it. But how...?" He sat down on the ground with the string hanging around his neck on the flotation sac, trying to think of how he could get the teeth without hurting himself again on its rough skin. He looks around quickly, trying to find a solution to his problem. Then just up the way a bit, he spots a small log sitting near the river. He stands up and walks over to it and lifts it up, finding it heavy but not so much that he can't hold it. "Hm, this should work nicely..." he thinks as he holds it, testing the weight. Taking the rock back with him, he sits down to get started chizzling at the teeth with the rock to create holes near the base of each tooth.

"There, all done..." Kelvin declared to himself as he stood up, wiping his brow with an arm. After what seemed like hours, he finally finished working on the teeth and was ready for the next step. "Now to put them together with this string." Kelvin took the string from around his neck and diligently tried to thread it through the holes in each tooth. Through mounting frustration, he managed to get all three on the string finally.

"About time I got that done..." Kelvin said, sighing in relief about being finished. "Now to try and get this on." He sat down by a tree to think, holding the necklace in one paw as he thought about it. An idea came to his head of putting it around his neck then trying to tie it behind his head. So he attempted to do so, but after countless efforts, was quickly frustrated and decided that wasn't going to work. "Damnit, it's too hard to tie it behind myself like that. I need to be able to see it." He looked at the necklace again and attempted to tie the loose ends in front of himself, then tried putting it over his head.

The idea seemed to work, and after a couple efforts to loosen and tighten it to make it fit right, Kelvin finally had his necklace on. "Ha, there we go," he said proudly as he stood up with the teeth dangling from his neck. He walked over to the river and looked at his reflection to see how it looked and smiled at himself. "I think I did a good job, this looks great. Now people should think twice before trying to mess with me when they see this."

A couple of weeks passed by without trouble, and Kelvin was enjoying the peacefulness. He was swimming along in the river, looking for a good fish to catch. Suddenly a large fish caught his eye and quickly he took off after it, his tails spinning wildly behind him to propel him forward faster. The chase went on for what seemed like a while, until finally Kelvin was able to catch it and went back to the surface.

"Whew, this sure is a big one," he said as he held the fish in his paws while floating in the water to look at it. He swam over to the shore and threw onto the dry land after fighting to keep it restrained, then climbed out of the water himself as well, and took a moment to shake the water out of his fur. Before the fish could manage to flop any further away, Kelvin quickly grabbed it again and slammed it against a nearby rock to kill it. "There we go, now we're ready to eat." As he sat down to eat his meal, a voice startled him from behind.

"I'd say so, runt," said the voice. Kelvin turned around to see another Floatzel standing over him with a menacing grin. "That's a pretty big fish you got for me. Question is, you gonna give it to me or am I gonna have to beat it out of you first?" The Floatzel put his paws together and cracked his knuckles. Kelvin stood up and stared him down, trying to show he wasn't afraid.

"I don't think so, that fish is mine. I caught it and I'm going to eat it. Go get your own fish," Kelvin responded, not about to allow anyone to push him around, especially not when he had his necklace on. It was almost like the necklace was somehow giving him more energy. The Floatzel smiled an evil grin, as if pleased that he was getting a fight out of him.

"You leave me no choice but to leave you as an unconscious, bloody, and mangled mess then," he remarked, confident that he'd have his way within moments. Hoping to catch Kelvin off guard, he threw a fast punch towards his head. Before he could react, Kelvin felt the full impact of the punch on his cheek and stumbled back a little, holding the side of his face.

'Damn, this guy has one helluva punch...' Kelvin thought to himself, rubbing his cheek a little. 'I'll need to watch myself better now that I know how hard he punches.' After regaining his footing, he got himself into a better position and charged forward and quickly threw a punch back at him. He landed the quick strike, making solid contact with the Floatzel's face as well. He stumbled aside a bit as well, surprised by Kelvin's strength as well.

"Well, seems I found myself a scrapper. Makes this a lot more fun, I like a good challenge," he smirked and quickly came back at him again. He threw another punch at him, this time going low and drilling Kelvin hard in the stomach. Kelvin bent over, putting an arm over his stomach as he gasped for air a second, getting the wind knocked out of him from the sudden contact. Backing up a bit, his eyes half-shut and cringing at the pain, and head facing the ground, his opponent took advantage and quickly sent a Sonic Boom attack his way. Kelvin heard the sound of it approaching, and quickly glanced up. But before he could react, the blast of energy caught him in the chest and knocked him back onto the ground, groaning a little from the pain.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you runt?" said the Floatzel slyly as he walked over and looked down at Kelvin with an evil smirk, lifting his foot over Kelvin's head. Kelvin's eyes widened as he realized the enemy's plan, and thinking quickly, rolled to the side just as he saw him prepare to bring his foot down. The Floatzel's foot slammed to the ground, catching nothing but dirt as Kelvin successfully got out of the way, and he growled as he looked up to see where he went. "Argh, you got lucky that time..."

Kelvin smirked as he prepared his next move and fired a Water Pulse at him as fast as he could, hoping to catch him off guard with it as well. Without time to react, the attack drilled the Floatzel and sent him tumbling backwards, losing his balance and holding his head, feeling disoriented. "Now who's the lucky one?" Kelvin taunted.

"Grr... come here, you bastard!" the Floatzel growled and attempted to rush at him. He took a swing at what he thought was Kelvin, but missed completely as his confusion caused him to see double. Watching him swing at the air next to him, Kelvin leaped behind him and delivered a powerful kick square into his back right between the two circular markings. He grunted and groaned from the sudden shot of pain as he flew forward onto his stomach, getting a face full of dirt as he lay still to try and wait for the confusion to wear off. Kelvin took advantage, walking over and giving one last hard shot to the back of his head with his foot, knocking out his opponent easily.

"There, showed you who's the weak one," Kelvin said with a smile. He walked back to claim his prize, the fish in which he caught, and carried it off to a more secluded area. Sitting down by a tree, he happily ate the fish and rested himself. The fight had taken a lot out of him, so he enjoyed getting the chance to rest and finally eat. "I'm glad I won, this is a really good fish."

As Kelvin continued eating, he looked out at the river and wondered if a better life ever would come along. A life of peace where he wouldn't be alone and always fighting to survive by himself. More so, he wondered if he'd ever find someone who loved him. Raising himself without loving parents, few friends and allies, and plenty of enemies all around always made him wonder if a better life could be had. Letting out a sigh, he finished eating the fish and glanced back down at the ground.

"One of these days, life's gotta turn around for me…" he thought to himself. Then he glanced up at the river again and another thought come to mind. "I never thought about it before, but… I wonder where that river leads? Maybe I should follow it downstream sometime…" He got an idea and suddenly his gloomy mood disappeared. "Wait, that's it… I should try moving downstream and see if life's any better there!" He smiled to himself and for the first time in a long while, he felt excited about something. He walked over to the shore and looked in the direction the water was flowing with curiosity, thinking about what it might have in store for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Ría… Ría, wake up!" a sly-sounding voice called out. Ría groggily began getting up, picking herself up lazily from the ground, and slowly opened her golden eyes. She stretched out and yawned softly before looking at the source of the voice.

"What is it…?" she answered softly. Standing over her was her friend, Emine, a female Linoone about a year older than her. A somewhat impatient look was on her face as she looked down at her.

"It's almost noon and you're still sleeping? You can be so lazy sometimes, I don't know how you do it," Emine complained. Ría blushed a little nervously, and picked herself up from the ground to stand up.

"Ehh… sorry 'bout that... I just get comfy really, really easily…" she explained. "But at least I'm awake now..." Emine rolled her eyes and turned back around in the direction she came from.

"Yeah, so let's just get going already. We don't need to waste all day sitting here," she replied. Ría followed her along down the forest path, until a choking sound coming from a nearby bush suddenly startled them. They stopped and quickly rushed over to check what it was to see a Manectric there with a small pile of berries next to him. Both of them recognized who it was, their friend Zeke. "What are you doing, trying to eat those without swallowing?" asked Emine.

"No, I think these berries are spoiled or something, they taste horrible," Zeke explained. "I found them on this bush here and figured I'd try them out." Emine examined the berries and gave a small sigh.

"Do you even watch what you're eating? These berries already went bad a while ago, judging by the looks of them," she said. "I swear, sometimes I question if you even have a brain in that head of yours." Ría smirked slightly, finding it sort of amusing, but not too much. Zeke noticed her there and called over.

"Hey, Ría, didn't see you there," he called, walking over a little closer. "You trying to hide from me?"

"No, of course not…" she replied. "I just didn't have much to say is all."

"That's fine, no harm in that," Zeke responded, then turned back to Emine again. "So, what'd you have in mind for us today then?"

"Well, I figured we could probably head down to the river and get some fish. Seeing how sleeping beauty probably hasn't eaten yet and you had some bad berries, you both must be hungry," Emine explained, glancing at both of them.

"Sounds good to me, I'm real hungry right now," answered Zeke. Ría perked her head up as she noticed them waiting for her, and she nodded in response quietly, agreeing with the idea. Emine smiled a bit faintly and began walking towards the river.

"In that case, let's go get some food. I haven't had fish in a while," she said as she led the way. Zeke began following along, stopping to look back for a moment at Ría, who quickly realized they were leaving now and started following along as well.

The trio arrived at the shore of the Amadahy River and looked out over the flowing water. Emine observed the water closely, looking to see if she could see any fish in that area. A few caught her attention as they swam by, so she stood back up and looked to her friends again.

"This should be a good spot for now. If we can't catch anything, we can just move somewhere else," she commented. Zeke nodded as he walked over next to the water and laid down on his stomach to get closer, watching the river and slowly wagging his tail.

"No problem, I'll get us some fish in no time, just you wait," he said, full of enthusiasm. In the meantime, Ría walked over to a nearby tree and sat down next to it to relax a little again, yawning a little from still being drowsy. Emine stood near Zeke and watched as he swatted at the water and fish with his paws, missing every time. "Gah, they're faster than I thought…" he remarked as he continued trying to catch one. As he grew more frustrated, he began swatting the water harder and swaying his tail faster. But despite all his efforts, he still couldn't catch any of the fish.

"Maybe you should calm down, Zeke…" Emine suggested. "It's not going to help if you keep hitting the water harder like that." He stood up and glanced over at her.

"Yeah, maybe you're right…" he admitted. Then he positioned himself to lunge at the river. "So I'm going to take a different approach!" Emine looked over with a confused expression, then quickly realized what he was planning to do and rushed over to hold him down.

"Gah, no! You can't possibly jump in the river, that'd be a very bad idea!" she exclaimed, doing what she could to keep him on the ground. Her efforts paid off as Zeke settled down and dejectedly laid down again. She sighed with relief and collected herself. "Here, Ría and I will catch some fish instead and we'll share it with you. Does that sound better?"

"Yeah, I guess it does," Zeke replied after taking a moment to think. 'Even though I'm sure I could've caught some myself if you'd let me dive in there…' he thought to himself. Emine stood up and looked around curiously.

"Wait, where is Ría?" she asked. Then she spotted the Floatzel relaxed by the tree and gave an annoyed type of sigh as she walked over. "Ría, why are you over here and not helping us with the fishing?" Ría looked up at her and opened her eyes again.

"Hm? Oh, sorry, I was just resting again…" she responded. Emine slapped her forehead and regained herself before continuing.

"Anyway, can you help me go in the river and catch some fish then? We need your help with it because you're the strongest swimmer of all of us," she asked.

"Mmn… sure, I guess I could then," Ría answered and got up slowly, then followed Emine along to the riverside again. After a moment, the two of them leaped into the water together as Zeke stayed behind to watch. Ría lazily swam along at first, not catching many fish, while Emine continued giving her full effort to catch what she could. Upon seeing her friend not catch anything yet, she approached her once again.

"Why aren't you catching anything? I know you're a better fisher than this," she scolded, looking sternly at her.

"Eh, sorry… I'll try harder now…" Ría replied, then both continued swimming along again looking for fish. She began swimming harder and caught plenty of fish, while Emine caught what she could as well. Eventually their combined stacks of fish were big enough and they decided to stop. They both climbed out of the river and sat down near Zeke with their piles of fish.

"Well, that was a lot of work, but we caught a lot together," Emine commented happily. "Now we can finally eat, so help yourselves to however much you want." They nodded and all began feasting on the meal.

After everybody had eaten their fill of fish, the group stood up and prepared to be on their way. They walked along through the forest to walk off the food and keep active. All the while, Ría stayed to herself and said nothing as she kept looking up at the sky with her paws behind her head. Zeke was lost in thought himself, though mostly keeping his eyes on Emine. Eventually they came to a small clearing and sat down to take a break. Finally Zeke broke the silence as he turned to look at Emine.

"Hey, um… can I ask you something?" he asked, feeling a bit nervous. She gave a slightly confused look, but nodded. "Well, we've known each other for years... we've been with each other along with Ría, growing up a-and all, looking after each other and I-I... well, you know it's just that... I think, erm..." Zeke blushed a little bit shyly and rubbed the back of his head, having a hard time getting the words out.

"Well, what is it you want to tell me? Just let it out already," she responded, getting a bit impatient. He stuttered a little bit before finally collecting himself enough to get the words out.

"Wh-what I wanted to say is… I've grown attracted to you and kind of hoped you'd be my mate…" he replied, forcing himself to say it. Emine blinked for a moment, taking a moment for it to sink in before chuckling a little bit. Zeke felt himself get a little uncomfortable waiting for the reply, until she finally spoke again.

"I'm truly flattered you feel that way and all, but…" she paused for a second to find the right way to say it. "… I just don't feel the same way about you right now. You're a great friend and all, but I don't think I'd go as far as to being your mate just yet. I hope it's alright…"

"Oh, I see… that's fine then, sorry for bringing it up…" Zeke responded, a little bit hurt but staying hopeful. "I'm glad you're not mad about it anyway. I think I need to take a walk by myself, too…"

"Alright, just be careful then. Don't want anything bad happening to you," Emine called out as he walked off slowly, leaving her alone with Ría. With Zeke out of sight, she looked back to Ría again and noticed the distant look in her eyes. Taking a moment to think it over, she realized how Ría always seemed to be like that. Unenthusiastic about things, hardly ever interested, and never very reliable, making their friendship feel awkward. It got her wondering why she always acted like that, and she realized there was no better time to find out than now. "Hey, Ría… you feel like talking?"

"Sure, I guess… what is it you wanted to talk about?" she answered, turning her attention to Emine now.

"The way you always act… I was just thinking about that, and I'm really curious to know, why are you like this? Something happen before?" Emine asked with a concerned tone. She moved over closer to make it easier to listen.

"Eh… well, I don't know how interesting it is really," Ría replied softly after a moment.

"What're you talking about? I wouldn't be asking if I didn't think it was important to ask…" Emine said, looking over at her. Ría shifted a bit and looked to the side.

"Well, if you really want to know, I guess I can explain it," she responded, taking a breath before starting with her story. "When I was growing up, my parents didn't exactly give me a lot of attention or anything, and I never really had any friends. They paid enough attention that I wasn't neglected, but certainly not enough to feel like they cared. I started to enjoy being alone a little more as time went on, so it didn't feel like there was a problem." She stopped a moment to give Emine a chance to take it in so far.

"That's so sad… I never knew about that before, but please continue…" Emine said with a hint of compassion in her voice.

"As I got older, I started becoming more of a loner, even leaving for things like meal time so I could be by myself. On top of that, it really changed my view on life to where I just didn't find anything to be really exciting anymore and overall grown to stop caring about things as much. I never really felt like anybody cared about me since my parents expected me to be tough, so I naturally stopped caring over time about others. So yeah, they made me tough alright… so tough I don't even know what happiness is anymore…" Ría explained, trailing off at the end into a somewhat sad, distant expression.

"Oh wow… that really explains a lot then…" Emine commented, feeling a little down hearing her tale.

"Now I just don't see a point to really caring anymore, nobody cares about me anyway. So I don't really see why it matters," Ría added.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Ría…" Emine replied after a moment, coming up closer and giving her a hug. Ría looked down at her with a confused expression.

"Uh… what are you doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a hug… don't you know what a hug is?" Emine responded, backing away to look at her.

"No, I've never heard of it… nobody's ever done it to me before," Ría answered, shaking her head. "What's it for exactly?

"It's a way of showing I care, okay?" Emine said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Whatever…" Ría muttered, looking away at the ground.

Suddenly, the two stopped their bickering as they heard the sound of someone groaning in pain followed by a thud off nearby. They both quickly turned their attention to the direction of the sound and scrambled to their feet to check it out. Upon arriving at the scene, both let out a gasp as they saw Zeke laying on the ground, holding his shoulder in pain and looking hazy-eyed. Emine rushed over to his side to see what was wrong while Ría stayed behind, her eyes wide as she looked on, unsure what to do.

"What's wrong, Zeke? What happened to you?" Emine frantically asked, barely taking time to breathe as her concern grew. Zeke open an eye to look at her and gave a faint smile to try and calm her down a little.

"I was walking along here trying to clear my mind and everything, then I noticed that berry bush nearby…" he began, stopping a moment to breathe and recollect what happened again. "It looked sort of purple, and I was curious so decided to check it out and see if the berries could help me relax…"

"What happened next then?" Emine commented as he paused for a moment again. The worry in her eyes continued to grow.

"I went to reach for this purple stub at the base of the bush and it started shaking as I was about to grab it, then I heard a hissing sound. Before I knew it, this huge Arbok leapt out from the bush and bit down hard on my shoulder before slamming me off to the side with its large tail…" Zeke continued, moving his paw away from the wound to show how serious it was.

Emine examined it closely and frowned at the sight. "Oh my, that's really bad… I think you might be poisoned, Zeke…" she remarked. "We'll need to find you some Pecha berries right away! Are there any other injuries we should know about? How bad does it hurt?"

"It hurts mostly in the shoulder there near the wound, but I don't think there's anything else besides that… but I think you're right about the poison, too…" Zeke muttered, beginning to feel weak and wincing at the pain a little as well.

"I better stay here with you to watch if it gets any worse…" Emine said, trying to think it fast about what to do. She looked back at Ría, who was still standing to the side looking on. "Ría, make yourself useful for once and go find us some Pecha berries to give him! They're small, pink, heart-shaped, and have a cream-colored rim. Think you can handle finding that?"

"Eh, sure, I guess I can try to," Ría lazily replied. Emine gestured her to get moving right away to find it before returning her attention to the wounded Manectric. Ría turned around and walked off to begin her search for the Pecha berries.

She walked along slowly, glancing at the bushes on both sides of the path, trying to find a bush with berries that fit the description Emine gave her. She stopped at a few along the way to brush through and check, but didn't find what she wanted in any of them. She kept searching, eventually finding some berries that looked too tempting to pass up. "Well, I guess I could use a little snack while I'm here," she said to herself. She lazily approached the bush to pick a few berries, but suddenly a Parasect interrupted her. "Gah!" she shrieked, as she tried to back away. But before she could get very far, the Parasect flashed an enraged look in its eyes and released a Spore attack on Ría for invading its territory like that. Unable to escape, Ría collapsed to the ground after a moment, KO'd by the attack. The Parasect went off again into its bush after defending its territory.

"Wake up, you lazy bitch!" scowled an angry, familiar voice. Shortly after it was followed by a hard, firm slap across the face. "I said wake up!" Groggily, Ría lifted her head up and slowly opened her eyes, picking herself up from the ground.

"Ugh… what? What's going on?" she muttered sleepily. She looked over to see an enraged Emine standing over her. The sun was shining down through the trees to indicate it was morning now, which brought a little surprise to the tired Floatzel.

"You are just SO unreliable, Ría! I can't believe you came out here to sleep instead of help me find those Pecha berries for Zeke!" Emine shouted. "I got tired of waiting and eventually had to go looking myself thanks to you!"

Ría blinked a moment and tried to remember what happened the previous day. "Well… it isn't like I just fell asleep or something looking, I got attacked by something out of that bush and passed out…" she defended, still feeling a bit drowsy.

"This is no time for excuses, damnit! Zeke could've died because of you not getting him those berries! He's lucky that I found some first, and he should be fine now, but he almost didn't make it," Emine replied, still bearing an angry scowl on her face.

"Well, like you just said, he's alive anyway. What's the big deal then?" Ría replied as she sat up and rubbed her tired eyes. Emine growled and clenched her fists a moment, appalled by the response.

"I cannot believe you'd say that! You are such a heartless bitch! Have you no sympathy at all?" yelled the Linoone. "I realize he's alive, thanks to me, but because it took so long to get him those berries, he's really sick from the venom and trying to recover."

"Well, sorry then, it's not my fault I got KO'd by some wild Pokémon like that. I can't do anything about that, now can I?"

Emine snarled and punched Ría hard across the face. "IT'S YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT FOR NOT BEING CAREFUL ENOUGH IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Ría got up from the blow, holding her face and looking back at her with a sort of astonished look. "What's that for? There's no need to hit me like that," she answered back, starting to get a bit angry as well.

"I couldn't help it, you really pushed me to the limit with this!" Emine said in response, defending her actions.

"Hey, I said I was sorry! What more do you want from me? God damn, I tried to help and got knocked out by something, so stop blaming me for everything like this!" shouted Ría, feeling outraged that Emine wouldn't back down and accept her apology.

Flustered by her friend's incompetence, Emine's anger boiled over and she exploded with one last tirade to express her displeasure. "You know what? I'm sick of your crap, Ría! Absolutely sick of it! Your attitude and behavior is not only deterring, but also damned atrocious! You're such an awful friend! That's it; you and I are no longer friends! Have fun being alone, I'm going back to Zeke and help him all by myself without your damned hijinx screwing things up!" She snarled and turned around, then began storming off while grunting in disgust and shouting back over her shoulder "Good riddance to you!"

Ría just stood where she was, in disbelief and shock, then blinked a moment as she watched her former friend storm off. After a moment, she slumped back and sadly muttered to herself "Yeesh… am I really _that_ bad…?" She stood up and slumped off on her own, realizing she'd need to find a new place to live in the forest to avoid seeing her old friends again.

Days passed by as the emotional effects began to sink in on Ría. She was no longer being woke up by Emine every day, was being forced to hunt by herself, sleeping by herself, and most of all having nobody to talk with. She had to eat alone and had nobody to comfort her or be there to help her after a fight, too. Life was much more miserable for her than ever, and she regretted having been so rude to her friends. "I never realized how lonely life is without friends…" she said to herself in a low, sad voice. "It feels so weird not having anybody who cares about me all over again…"

She continued along each painstaking day, the effects of the emotional pain getting worse. It continued like this until one day, while sitting alone by a tree eating a fish, she came to a grim realization. "I never noticed it before, but… I really _am_ a bad person…" Ría told herself sadly. "I don't mean to be like this, and I'll be alone forever if I don't do something about it…" For a moment, she almost felt like crying, but her toughness instilled by her upbringing prevented that.

With a sad, but hopeful look, she glanced up from the fish in her paws and looked at the river's flowing water. It gave her a thought that she should move along and find a new place to live so she could go somewhere she wouldn't be so alone at. Everybody hated her in this place, so it only made sense that she move on after all. "Maybe I'll find some new friends up the river a little more. I mean, it's worth a shot," Ría remarked. "Heh... and a whole new life too... doesn't sound too bad. I may even... _like_ it." She finished eating her fish and then decided now was a better time than ever to get going. So she stood up and began her move up river to a different area of the Valley's forest from where she was now.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Three years had passed and Kelvin was still all alone, without any friends or family to care about him. He woke up one morning and looked to his side to see he was alone. Letting out a sigh, he got up and grumbled to himself. "Grawr… I'll never find someone who wants to stay with me for more than a night…" He stretched out and yawned tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he stood up. He headed over to the riverside and looked at the water at his reflection, seeing how miserable he looked. "I'm so sick of being alone, it's been over three years now… maybe I really should just get out of here now. I'm more than old enough to explore what's down the river," Kelvin said to himself.

Kelvin decided to do some fishing to try and ease his mind and catch some breakfast. So after readying himself, he dove into the river and swam around in search of his meal. He caught some fish after a little while and came back to shore to eat his food quietly. As he ate his fish, he watched the area around him, looking at it with slight disgust. "I think I should head out of here after I eat, I'm sick of life here, it's too depressing," Kelvin commented to himself. He finished eating his fish quietly, then stood up and looked upstream again. He took a deep breath and took a step forward finally. Slowly he started walking along the riverside, until he finally picked up the pace to a normal speed, trying not to think too much about where he was going, or what he was leaving behind.

Time passed him by, scenery changed slowly, and he was beginning to wonder how far he'd come. "No, don't worry about it…" Kelvin assured himself, shaking his head to shake the thoughts. "That place isn't home anymore, there should be no homesickness now." With that, he continued on his way, his mind wandering to the thought of what to do when he got to the new home. He anxiously kept going, looking forward to seeing the new area.

Kelvin arrived deep in the unfamiliar forest, noticing how much everything looked in this area. The trees looked different, all sorts of berries sprouted from the bushes, and overall the scenery was different from what he was used to.

"Well, this must be the other forest, nothing looks the same here…" he said, looking around with intrigue. He continued walking along, and then the sound of rushing water caught his attention. "I hear the river, it must be close by. I haven't had a good relaxing swim in a while, maybe I should go check it out and see if I meet anyone new." Following the sound of the water, Kelvin made his way over to the river and looked out over it for a moment, taking a moment to think. He scanned the water to see if he could find anybody else, but it appeared to be just him. So without thinking any longer, he dove into the cool water and began swimming along calmly, enjoying himself again. It had been a while since he truly felt relieved just from swimming like this. The calm current made it easy as well, allowing him to go at his own pace.

"Man, I never knew how relaxing swimming could be," Kelvin said to himself as he came back up for air. He took a moment to float around at the surface, taking a small break, before diving back under and swimming some more. He kept along for a short while longer before he swam back to the surface again. "Whew, I think I need a break now…" he commented, panting a little as he slowly swam over to the shore and climbed out. Looking around for a place to take a short rest, he spotted a tree with plenty of shade. "That one looks really good." He walked over to the tree and sat down, leaning back against it. However, his weight shook the tree and from it, a Spinarak dropped down and landed on its back.

"Huh? What's that thing?" the startled Floatzel remarked as he saw the spider fall to the ground nearby. No sooner than he could say anything, it hopped to its many legs and glared at him with an angry look in its eyes, the face on its back changing to an angry expression. "Uhh… I don't like how this looks…" he noted, a little tension growing as he stared at it. Then with great speed, the Spinarak leapt at him and used Poison Sting on his arm with its sharp fangs.

"Oww! Fuck!" Kelvin shouted, cringing at the immense pain and gasping sharply as his skin was penetrated by it. The Spinarak let go and leapt off, gave him one last evil stare and marched off to find a different tree. "Aghh… god damn, I must've disrupted it or something…" he commented, looking between his new wound and the tree branches above. He grabbed at his arm and winced in pain at it, feeling unsettled by the Pokémon's poison running through his body. Thinking quickly, he stood up and began frantically searching for some Pecha berries to get rid of the feeling. "I better hurry up and get this taken care of, I got no time to waste on this."

Ría walked along quietly through the forest, on her way to the river. She sighed as her mind continued to race. Thoughts about her life swirled around at a rapid pace. Whether she'd ever find someone who cared about her, how she'd treated her old friends before, how everybody hated her because of how she acted. She needed some time to relax, calm down, and stop thinking of these things for a while at least. To accomplish this, she figured she'd go spend some time in the river by herself, alone, and maybe even get some quick rest while she was at it…

It all sounded so nice, and as she swam out to the center of the river, her problems seemed to slowly drift away. She laid back on the surface, allowing her floatation sac to buoy herself on the flowing water. Time passed by slowly as she relaxed in the river, shutting her eyes slowly. "... mh, this is nice... kinda forgot how good this felt..." she calmly whispered to herself.

She peered up at the sky and watched the clouds roll by at a controlled pace. Her mind began drifting off as she watched, enjoying the time to relax for once. Thoughts about when she'd ever find someplace she belonged came in followed with if she could ever find love somewhere as well. She let out a heavy sigh, wondering how long all that could take. "Some day…" she assured herself, "... maybe some day I'll find some friends or somethin'... who knows... maybe I could find a cute guy along the way..." Ría shook her head some and quietly told herself "now isn't the time to be worrying about that, I just need to relax right now…"

Suddenly a Pidgeotto came into view overhead, flying by carrying a couple of berries in its talons. But as it flew over her head, one of the berries slipped out of its grasp and dropped down towards Ría's face. As she opened her eyes again, she noticed the object falling towards her and before she knew it, the berry splattered all over her face. "Ugh, damnit…" grumbled the Floatzel as she got up from her laid back position, reaching up with an arm to wipe it away from her eyes.

In the meantime, Kelvin was walking back towards the riverside after having consumed a couple of berries, feeling much better.

"Damn that Spinarak… it's lucky I found those berries…" he groaned as he walked along. He rubbed his stomach a little as it began grumbling at him. "Hm, still pretty hungry, though… maybe I should try and catch some fish." Kelvin approached the river and dove into the water after a moment. Ría heard the splash from where she was and quickly stopped wiping off the berry from her face to look where the sound came from.

"Huh? Who just jumped in?" she wondered to herself quietly, but there was no sign of anybody. She sighed and shook her head. " Hm... thought I heard something. I guess my mopin's makin' me a little jumpy… eh, oh well." She went back to trying to get the berry off her face, not thinking too much about the noise. Kelvin continued swimming along under the surface, spotting a fish nearby. His eyes lit up as he quickly began swimming after it, twirling his tails to gain speed as the fish tried to escape his pursuit.

'Get back here, you!' he thought to himself, not wanting to scare it further. Eventually he finally caught up to it and reached forward, grabbing it by the tail to slow it down. 'Gotcha!' he exclaimed excitedly in his mind. The fish tried to struggle as he reached forward with his other paw and wrestled with it to the surface of the water, causing a splash upon reaching the top again. Ría moved her arm away in time to see the splash coming at her, getting her body wet and washing off a little of the berry juice.

"W-whoa! ... What the... what's going on? What is that?" she remarked, startled by the suddenness of it. But Kelvin didn't respond, instead still struggled with his catch, splashing all around violently trying to get the fish under control. In the process, Ría continued being splashed even more, causing her to get more annoyed, unable to tell who, or what, it was doing this. She grew more irritated and shouted again to try and get its attention.

"Hey! What's going on over there? What're you do-" she growled, but was cut off as another big splash came up in her face, getting some in her mouth as well. She backed off a bit, choking a little from the water, as Kelvin continued wrestling the fish still, focused on it now more than ever. Ría took a moment to clear her throat before snarling and swimming over to see what the commotion was. But as she approached, the fish's tail slapped her in the muzzle, causing her to stop and back up a bit again. "Rrr… damnit!" she shouted out in frustration. Kelvin finally managed to get the fish under control as he bit into its side and took off for the shore to beat it over the ground until it stopped moving.

"There we go, finally can eat," he said with a sigh of relief. Ría noticed him finally settle down and snarled slightly to herself again, thinking mentally 'Finally I can tell this damned guy off…' She swam over behind him and without alerting him over her presence, she began ranting at him.

"What's the big idea, huh? Causing all that commotion and splashing me like that to try and get my attention?" Kelvin turned around, startled by the angered voice behind him, and looked at her.

"Wha? What're you talking about?" he replied, somewhat confused what she was so mad about. Ría's expression softened for a moment as she got a good look at his face, thinking to herself '... he's... not bad...' for a moment. But she quickly shook her head to snap out of it. '... But that isn't gonna 'scuse the jackass.' She glared him down again with her golden eyes, still fiery about the incident.

" ... Back there... in the water!" she shouted, pointing back to where they had been before. "Ya kept splashin' me while fighting with that stupid fish of yours while I was tryin' to talk! Not to mention the damn thing smacked me in the face!" Annoyed, she continued, fitting her rant with some bitterness. "Have ya ever bothered to stop 'n' listen to when there's someone callin' ya out? Or was just there too much water in your ears?"

Kelvin looked back at her, admiring slightly what he could see of her body with them both in the water. "Sorry about it then, I didn't know you were there before. I was too focused on getting this fish to eat that I didn't hear you all too well. I really didn't mean to get you so mad like this," he explained, nervously reaching up to rub the back of his head, allowing for her to see his unusually spiky arm fins. Her eyes averted to said fins, somewhat impressed as she's never seen such features in other Floatzels, but shook it off and regained her glare.

"Well… guess your stomach was just talkin' louder than I was…" Ría said, folding her arms and puffing a bit. "Maybe it'll shut up once ya start eatin' the fish." Kelvin chuckled somewhat hesitantly and looked back at his fish.

"Heh, yeah… maybe it will. Again, I'm sorry for disturbing you, though." He turned around and lifted himself out of the water, and picked up his fish. He looked back down at her one more time before heading off. "Well, see you around then, I guess." With that, he walked off. Ría stared at him for a moment, her grip on the grudge faint and fading, which then ended on a distressed sigh. She turned her head around, her body curving over along with her neck, and looked down for a moment before glancing over at him one more time.

"... eh... guess I did it again... " she grunted to herself before lowering her gaze back down in the grass. " Cold as always... maybe this whole... 'travelling' crap isn't what I needed..." She slid herself out of the rippling water, shook it all off her fur, and started to walk away on her own, pondering a little more. " ... guess I just need 'ta embrace it a little more... it's tough bein' alone..."

Kelvin continued along his own way, thinking about his encounter with that female. 'She sure looked nice, even if she was probably more bitter than most of the females I run into… can't help but wonder if she's ever friendlier than that.' He shrugged his shoulders and kept walking, leaning his head back to stare at the sky. "I doubt it matters much, not like I'll see her again I'm sure… nobody ever wants to find me twice without wanting to kick my ass."

A week passed and Ría was still alone. She hasn't seen nor heard of that male Floatzel at all during that time, not even made someone new to be acquainted with. She was starting to wonder why she bothered to take up this new life in the first place, seeing as how it's doing nothing for her. As well, she also wondered why she didn't bother to apologize to the man, as well as ask for his name. With all of this guilt pressed down on her, it's as if her loneliness was getting so bad, that her mind was beginning to trick her into thinking there would be anybody who could like her, or even stand being near her, let alone the male Floatzel Kelvin.

"... meh... who'm I kidding... this 'new life' crap is startin' to feel like a dream full of lies... " Ría grumbled to herself, sighing sadly as she walked along, not paying much attention to where she was going. ""... maybe it is... I'm not a likeable girl anyway... can't even keep one friend..." She continued slumping along the path, through the various trees and things. Suddenly a screeching sound caught her attention, and she picked her head up alertly to look around. "… what the hell was that?" She glanced around further before shrugging it off, seeing nothing around, and went to continue on. "... am I losin' it again...?"

There was a sudden rustling of bushes nearby, as the sound got louder, accompanied by a growl. Ría stopped again and looked in that direction. "Okay, that time I know I heard something." She slowly approached the bush with great caution. Without warning, a Vigoroth leaped up from the bush with its arms raised, screaming loudly. "Ahh--!" she screamed, her eyes widened for a moment as she stumbled backwards.

"TRESPASSER! LEAVE NOW! TRESPASSER! THESE TREES ARE MINE! MIIINE!" shouted the Vigoroth as it came lunging forward with its claws extended. Ría regained her stance and tried to leap back to avoid its first attack.

"Gah! H-how… the crap was I supposed to know _that?!_ I just got he--" she tried to explain, but before she could finish the Vigoroth slashed her hard across the face. She cringed and hissed as she backed up further, clutching her cheek. But before long, she slammed hard into a tree and stared up fearfully as he approached. Vigoroth came in closer, bearing more of his fangs and raising his sharp claws up again as he prepared to tear her apart.

"I HATE TRESPASSERS! TRESPASSING POKEMON ALWAYS TRY TO TAKE THINGS AND MISTREAT THE TREES I LIVE NEAR, EVEN TRY KICKING ME OUT! I CAN TRUST NO ONE, SO LEAVE! LEAVE OR YOU WILL SUFFER!" he screamed, glaring at Ría with his beady eyes. Thinking quickly, she ducked and rolled out of the way as his claws came flying at her, getting lodged in the side of the tree. "ARGH! NO, MY TREES!" He glared over to where she was, looking more enraged than before.

Ría stood up and tried to catch her breath while she could, licking the side of her cheek and noticing the blood running down her face. 'Shit… I'm bleeding, too…?' she thought, slightly frightened and looking panicked. Her attention went back on the Vigoroth as he finally yanked his claws free.

"YOU MADE ME DEFILE MY OWN PRECIOUS TERRITORY! YOU BETTER GET READY, NOW I'LL SHOW NO MERCY!" he yelled before leaping at her this time with his claws. Thinking quickly again, Ría shoots the dirt in front of her with a Water Gun and uses Mud Slap, throwing the mud at his face before he reaches her. The mud splattered all over his face, getting in his eyes and slightly in his mouth. "URGH! WH-WHAT IS THIS?!" shouted the beast as it stumbled back, vigorously trying to wipe the mud away.

"... heh... I-I got you now, you wily bastard..." Ría said with a smirk before taking advantage of the chance. She fired an Aqua Jet at him, slamming the Vigoroth back into a tree. But to no surprise, he leapt up after a moment looking even more pissed than before. Ría leaned forward, thinking she had time to hit him with another Aqua Jet, but didn't realize that her previous attack washed away enough of the mud for him to see her coming. The Vigoroth seized the chance and reached forward with his claws and slashed her hard across the face just as she fired the attack, pushing him back somewhat as she took the blunt of the encounter.

"Ugh, that was t-too close...!" Ría grunted out as she stumbled backwards, cringing from the blow. She reached up to her face and touched the bloody cut, wincing in pain at feeling how deep and painful it was to the touch. "Sh-shit… I better get out here so I can take care of this…" Ignoring the Vigoroth, she tried to take off for a berry bush nearby. But the Vigoroth was quick to react as he looked up and saw the intruder trying to run away.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASILY! YOU MUST PAY FOR TRESPASSING IN MY LAND!" he screamed out. Within a moment's notice he was standing in front of her at the bush, glaring down at her with his beady eyes. Ría let out a startled gasp as he appeared there, backing away a couple steps as not to run into him. Before she could do anything, she saw another large claw flying at her head, so she dodged it as best she could.

"Whoa, way too close for comfort there…" she muttered to herself, panting some. Wasting no time however, the Vigoroth continued his relentless assault on the Floatzel, causing her to continue jumping back and doing all she could to avoid being hit again by his powerful strikes. But her run came to an end as she suddenly felt something under her foot, and slipped to the ground on a wet rock from all the water attacks she used before. She crashed into some bushes to the side, grunting in pain, frustration, and nervousness as she tried to catch her breath. "Erk… d-damnit…"

Before long, she opened an eye and looked up as she felt a large shadow loom over her, and there stood the Vigoroth with an angry smirk. She tried to suck in a deep breath to push him away with a Water Gun, but suddenly seemingly from nowhere as the beast leaned in to attack, a large burst of water from another Water Gun shot through the air and sent the Vigoroth flying off to the side, crashing hard to the ground. Ría stopped her attack and blinked in shock, wondering where the blast came from.

"… uh… whoa, did I do that…?" she said slowly, taking the moment to catch her breath again as she glanced around from in the bush. Then suddenly she heard a familiar sounding voice close by calling to her.

"Hey there… you need a hand?" Ría looked up to see Kelvin standing there, extending a paw to help her up. Taking the time to realize it was him again, she couldn't help but blink, having a bit of a mental struggle as to whether or not she should take him up on his offer. She then shook her head, allowing a weak smile to form across her muzzle.

"... Uhh, sure..." she responded, taking his paw and then rose back up, her chest heaving a bit due to her panting, noting that she's regaining her energy, most of which was startled out of her. Kelvin smiled back for a moment as he helped her up from the bush, but the smile quickly vanished after she was standing again.

"Clearly there's no time to waste chatting, and you look pretty worn out. Get behind me, I'll take care of him for you," he said sternly, his attention turned back to the Vigoroth, who was angrily getting back up again in the meantime. Ría, hesitant, nodded as she shook her head and focused on the matter at hand. She wanted to handle it herself, now that she's more aware and feeling more reassured, but knew that in her condition against that strong and agile enemy, she would be better not to continue fighting it for a moment or two. Plus that strong male was here to help, so why not sit back and watch him in action? She decided to follow his orders, taking refuge behind him near a tree until it was safe to get some berries for her wounds, but also in a position to help if needed.

"SO YOU DARE DEFY ME AND PROTECT THIS INTRUDER? FINE, I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE TOO!" shouted the Vigoroth at his new target. Kelvin smirked slightly as the Vigoroth flew forward at him, not backing down at all which made Ría question if he knew what he was up against. The Vigoroth took a hard slash at Kelvin's head, but he quickly ducked under the swipe and before the beast could react, Kelvin came roaring back up with a hard uppercut into his jaw. He stumbled backwards, cringing and growling as he clutched his jaw. "GRAWR! I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS TO INTRUDERS WHO DISOBEY ME!"

Kelvin smiled again and kept himself in a defensive position. "We'll see about that, won't we?" Right as the Vigoroth recovered from the surprise uppercut, Kelvin fired a Water Pulse at him, which knocked him back once more. He stumbled backwards from the attack, holding his head with a dazed look on his face, appearing to be confused. Kelvin rushed forward to take advantage, throwing a hard punch into his stomach, causing him to double over clutching his stomach.

"URGH! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS" Vigoroth cried out through the pain and confusion. But Kelvin didn't waste any more time, grabbing him before he could stand back up and quickly using an Ice Fang on his shoulder, keeping his teeth buried deep to let the freezing chill take full effect before letting go and leaping back.

"There, let's see you attack now," Kelvin remarked, as he stood ready, staring at the Pokémon. The Vigoroth cringed in pain as he tried to stand up having a difficult time now. He tried to lift his arm, but the shoulder was too numb from the Ice Fang to move. Instead he tried lifting his other arm and swung for Kelvin's chest. Kelvin saw it coming and attempted to leap back to avoid it, but was a little slow and felt the sting of the claws graze across his chest. "Ack!" he groaned, grabbing for the wound. "Caught me off guard that time…" He watched carefully as the Vigoroth attempted to attack again, but missed in the heat of his confusion. Kelvin stayed back and waited for his chance before leaping up and delivering a hard elbow to the back of Vigoroth's head, which knocked the heavier opponent out cold.

Ría stepped forward to approach Kelvin slowly after seeing it crash to the ground. "... heh... ya put on quite a show there, you..." she said, admittedly entertained and somewhat impressed by what she's seen, ignoring the cuts on her for a moment. "... I guess I oughta save ya for helpin' me out… ... I coulda taken that ugly thing down myself, but he was all over the place 'n' didn't give me much time to act... sooo, nice that ya came around to help." Kelvin turned to look back at her, smiling slightly.

"Heh, it's nothing… I was just walking along, heard all the commotion over here, then saw you falling back into that bush… it only seemed logical I come help you out," he responded. He noticed the large painful cut on her face as he continued. "It's over now anyway, so maybe you should take care of that cut on your face…"

"... could say the same for your chest there... that stupid ugly li'l bastard nicked ya too..." Ría commented, pointing at the small wound on the male Floatzel's body. He glanced down at it and sort of smirked.

"It's nothing compared to you… but maybe we could go find some berries together then… could be a chance to get to know each other better." Ría stood for a moment, glancing to the side, debating if she really wants to take up on his offer... she hardly knew him, and just one kind deed is not enough to convince her to come along with Kelvin. However, she knew she needed her wounds to be tended to, feeling a tiny streak of blood run down across her fur, trailing from where the Vigoroth attacked, wincing. Sighing, she looked back up at him and put on yet another awkward 'smile', and responded with "... Uhh... yeah, sure, we can... I guess..."

Kelvin turned around to begin walking, waving an arm to signal her to follow along. Ría rolled her eyes, a silent expression of annoyance, knowing that she's going to follow him. Quietly treading along the way to a pitstop, she decided to clear her throat and give some small talk a try. She doubted if she'll see him soon again after this, so she wanted to at least patch things up with him if not make a friend. "… so… whatcha been doin' around this place, huh? Didn't think we'd be seein' each other again so soon…"

"Well, I just moved here somewhat recently, actually…" Kelvin responded. He glanced back at her while they continued walking. "I got sick of life at my old home up river from here, since it was too lonely and there was nothing for me there anymore. I figured I'd see what this place has to offer instead, and I like it so far. How about you then?"

"Mm, m'kay... well, for me..." Ría began, looking down, kind of watching her feet alternate with her webbed toes brushing along the grass. "I came here 'cause I got nowhere to go... back in my older home, I lost all my friends 'n' next to nobody likes me there at all, so I thought '... what the hell am I stayin' here for...?' then got up 'n' decided to look for a new place... can't seem to find a steady one." She shrugged her shoulders and puffed a bit before finishing. "It sucks that way…"

Kelvin took a moment to let her story sink in before nodding his head slowly. "That certainly does suck to deal with. Maybe we'll both get a change of luck here in this forest then."

She nodded quietly, her eyes now somewhat sloping softly with some depression. "Yeah... but then 'gain, that's kinda what I get for the way I act..." She swayed her head to the side, her tails slumping. " ... I never really cared much about anythin'... that's why I don't have friends anymore... plus that's why my fighting kinda sucks since I don't do much of it..."

"Well, I've been fighting my whole life it seems like… it's basically the only thing I know besides pain." Kelvin dropped his head slightly as he slowed down. "Never actually had any friends or people who cared about me as long as I can remember, so I'm pretty willing to risking myself to help others. It wouldn't matter to anybody if something happens to me." He gave a half-hearted chuckle at it to try and lighten things up, looking around at their surroundings again to check if there were any berries around yet. The female, golden-eyed Floatzel gave a weak, sly smirk.

" So... ya were gettin' your ass kicked?" Ría responded, rolling her eyes somewhat. She then turned her head to the other side, now getting back to her own experiences. "... I didn't have much o' that until today... but whatever ya had, it couldn't have been as bad as bein' off'd by your ex-friends, then kicked into the dirt, left to live alone..." She blinked slowly, emitting a sad sigh. " ... and I'm not gonna lie, it hurt a lot..." she mumbled, wanting to continue, but let her sentence stop to a floating end, signifying how bad it made her feel if words were not enough.

"That certainly isn't a lot of fun either from the sounds of it… but at least you did have friends, which is something," Kelvin said, trying to be reassuring. "I just had shitty parents and nobody who cared about me except myself. People trying to take shit from me, beat me up because they thought I was weak, treated like nothing I could do was good enough…" He sighed again and looked back at her. "But I don't want to bore you with my life, you probably don't care either like the rest of the world."

Ría could only sigh at Kelvin's assumption, making her feel as if she's failing already. "... I didn't even say anything like that... 'sides, I asked first, didn't I...?" grumbled the female Floatzel, turning her head to look at him with some frustration. However, one side of her mind had to agree with Kelvin to some extent, though the other is at least trying to assert a little more liveliness. Afterwards, Ría grunted, then turned to him fully, stopping for a moment. "... here... " she began, "... how bout we stop moping for now, and find a spot to get better already...?"

"Yeah… that'd be a good idea. We can talk more after we're not bleeding and in pain physically," Kelvin answered, noticing a tree nearby with some berry-filled bushes nearby. "There, those look good to you?"

She turned her head to the direction Kelvin pointed, blinking slowly and boredly. After a brief moment of silence, she shrugged and nodded. " ... Yeah, that's okay. It works," she affirmed, heading that way herself. Kelvin gave a relieved look as he followed along to the tree and the bushes. He bent over to look around in the bush and gathered some berries he thought looked good and sat down, offering some to her.

"Here, I got plenty of berries for us to share, help yourself to as many as you'd like or need," he commented, taking a couple to eat for himself. Settled down next to the bush, she edged a hand toward the fruit-bearing foliage before noticing some berries were offered to her, her eyes straying over to the bundle, noticing Kelvin's offering them to her. She paused for a few seconds and blinked, not expecting him to willingly offer her _anything_ .

" ... Thanks...?" she finally muttered, reaching for them and grabbing the handful, beginning to pick and pop the fruit into her mouth.

"It's no problem, you probably need them more than I do anyway… you took a bigger share of the pain than I did back there," Kelvin said softly with a smile. "Besides, nothing wrong with sharing with a good looking gal like yourself." He took a couple more berries and ate them as well, still looking over at her as he sat back against the tree.

Ría nearly choked in the middle of her gnawing on the juicy fruits. "Gh--!" she gasped with her mouth half full, being complimented for the first time in her life. She settled down, cleared her throat, swallowed the food, then looked at him, her facial expression looking something bewildered. " ... Did... did you just say I was... cute, or something?"

"Yeah… I hope I didn't offend or anything, just hard for me to not notice…" Kelvin nervously replied, afraid that he may have done something wrong. "Hard taking my eyes away, really, you got a nice body… you're free to smack me or whatever if you like, I probably shouldn't have said anything about it…" He turned his head to the side, looking slightly ashamed for being so open with someone he hasn't known for too long.

Ría just stayed on her knees, giving a puzzled at him with somewhat skewed eyes. She then glanced at herself, and back at him after the physical comment. " ... my... _body?_ " This only made her even further confused, since she hasn't been complimented for personality nor body-wise, and as such, doesn't know how to respond, except with... " ... what's so... "nice" about it?"

"Well, it's got nice curves, I guess… I don't think I've seen someone who looks as good as you before…" Kelvin answered, somewhat blushing a bit. "And it certainly seems like you can be friendly with some time. You didn't show it our first meeting, but I've noticed now you're not as bad as I thought before…" He shrugged a bit and ate a few more berries, hoping he wasn't making her mad at him.

"... uhh..." was all the female Floatzel could respond with, glancing down. She then shook her head and looked back at him. "... Thanks...?" She eventually said, not quite sincere, obviously showing she's new to being complimented, and as such, she doesn't fully believe him. At that time, the pain sparked a bit of her attention, reminding her that she still needs to heal. She leaned over while going back to eating her berries, grunting. "... stupid slashes..."

"Sorry for making you uncomfortable like that…" he remarked, going back to eating quietly again afterwards, thinking he probably scared her somewhat now with his interest. "Well… are the berries helping you at least?" he added after a brief pause.

"… kinda, I guess..." she responded after ignoring his apology. "Stupid wounds still hurt... that damn thing's claws were sharper than I thought..." her eyes continued to wince. "... but I'll get over it soon, so... don't worry..."

"Yeah, certainly looks like he got you pretty good there… but you seem strong-willed to me, I won't treat you like a kid about it…" Kelvin gave another re-assuring smile and continued to eat his own berries, carefully going to rub his own cut across his chest. "Mine's still hurting too, but it's nothing new being nicked up." The female Floatzel responded with a low, jumbled murmur as she continued to feast on the fruit. She winced when she ate the especially tangy morsels, and once more after feeling something plop on her neck.

Curious, Ría dropped her fruit and raised her head, looking back at him. "... did ya spit on me?" Kelvin glanced over with a confused look of his own, raising an eyebrow at the accusation.

"What're you talking about? Of course I didn't." he replied, then a moment later felt a drop of water fall on him as well on his muzzle. "Eh? Something fell on me now, too." He curiously glanced up into the sky through the trees and noticed it was beginning to rain. He smiled slightly and looked back over at her again. "Well, seems like it's starting to rain." Ría could only blink in confusion prior to feeling another wet tap hitting her head, followed by an extra, and several more. Flustered, she glanced upwards along with Kelvin, and has noticed the clouds have blurred the skies into a darker, misty shade, beginning a downpour.

"... heh..." Ría began, with a subtle smirk. "... s'been a while since I've felt rain..." Kelvin gave a warm smile as he finished the berry he'd been eating.

"A little rain now and then is always good for us, so nice getting some again," he commented as more rain drops pelted down on his body through the cover of the trees. Then a sudden loud crash of thunder was heard, followed shortly by a shot of lightning in the distance, causing Kelvin to jump slightly. "… Well, that certainly doesn't sound good…"

A sharp gasp escaped from Ría's mouth in response to the painfully loud cracking noise of lightning. She blinked, not looking too nervous, but wasn't feeling very safe either. "Ugh... great, lightning... and the rain's gettin' heavier too..."

"Yeah… maybe we should go find someplace to hide for now to wait for it to pass," Kelvin suggested, then glancing back over. "That is… unless you'd rather go on your own to find safety..."

" ... Uhh... " was all the female Floatzel could mutter before looking back and forth, thinking of a way to back out or suggest why she should do it alone. Considering the consequences, she realized she didn't know where to go, and stubbornly came to a mental conclusion that it'd be better to have help sometimes. She probably wouldn't be here now if she didn't have any thanks to Kelvin. With a sigh, she glanced at Kelvin, and replied, " ... um, I... I guess I could join ya..." Kelvin gave a satisfied smile and went to stand up, offering his paw to help her up as well.

"Great, I was kind of hoping you'd say that… come on, let's go find somewhere safe to hide fast before this storm gets any worse…" he said, trying to remain calm through the situation despite a small fear in the back of his mind from the thunder and lighting.

"Nh... yeah... what ya said," muttered Ría hesitantly, standing up with him and shaking the pelting water off her face. With an eye somewhat winced, she scanned around, trying to locate some good shelter through all the flooding lines of raindrops partially obscuring her vision. "Gah, the rain's REALLY heavy, I can't see well..." growled the Floatzel, her fists kind of clenched.

"I know what you mean, it's tough figuring out where to go…" Kelvin replied, trying to shield his eyes with a paw to scan the area. "Maybe we should just start moving for now and see if we can find something, it won't do much good staying in this spot if we can't see anything."

" ... sure... sure, we can do that. You lead... " responded Ría, nodding her head into a vague direction in front of themselves. "Hope ya're not bad with directions..."

"Don't worry, I may be new to this place, but I've got pretty good sense of direction still…" Kelvin replied, chuckling hesitantly as he went to walk forward a little quickly. He held his arm back to help make sure she didn't fall behind too far while keeping his other arm over his eyes to continue looking around.

"... Better be true..." Ría replied skeptically. She stayed right behind the leading weasel, her eyes winced out of frustration with the dense downpour pounding on her head. She lined a paw just above her eyes like Kelvin is doing with his arm, keeping her pacing steady so she doesn't slip on mud or puddles that she wouldn't see in time. Kelvin continued to trudge along with her, flinching at each loud crash of thunder and lighting, but still battling through the heavy rain all the same. Finally after a little more walking, he spotted a large hallowed out tree just up the way.

"There, that looks like a good place…" he remarked, pointing over at it. "Let's go check it out quick…" As she slid up next to him, she leaned her head forward, squinted her eyes, and blinked. Shortly after, they widened, surprised at the sight she saw.

"Huh..." she began, "... looks like a nice stop to rest... let's try it." Kelvin nodded and quickly led them over and helped her crawl inside before following in and sitting down.

"Well, judging by how hard it's coming down out there, I get the feeling we'll be here a while…" he stated while catching his breath some. "I hope you don't mind that then…"

Ría pursuited him into the tree den, noticing it's not inhabiting anything nor carrying a lingering smell, suggesting either the smell of rain has clouded over it or it hasn't been used in weeks. Now under some shelter and looking out the den and into the loud, heavy storm, she felt a little more at ease. " ... Huh? ... Yeah, sure, I don't mind..." she half-muttered, not paying full attention.

"Alright, let's try to get comfortable then," said Kelvin in response, coming to sit down close to her. He continued watching the rain come down outside the tree with her, for now keeping his arms to himself to try and not make her uncomfortable. Occasionally he couldn't help but glance over at her to check, but for now figured he'd let her be unless she welcomed it. Ría's golden-yellow eyes glistened softly with ease as she continued to watch the rain fall from inside the tree den, allowing her back to rest up against the wooden wall of the shelter. Yawning, her lids began to lower slowly, up until she eventually lost herself into a gentle slumber, breathing delicately through her nostrils.

"Hey, Ría, time to get up…" a voice softly called out, as a paw nudged her shoulder. "Wake up…"

Ría groaned as she was bothered to wake up, but the nostalgic feeling caused her to raise her head up and open her eyes a bit more hastily than usual. "... E-emine...?" she muttered, half-asleep. Kelvin looked down at her with a confused look, hovering over her from the side.

"Emine? My name's Kelvin, remember?" He let out a small laugh as he continued, "I guess you're still tired then and can't think straight yet." Groaning, she rubbed her eyes and blinked, her vision ridding itself of its tired blur, now seeing clearly who it was that woke her.

" ... Uh...?" she muttered, before shaking her head and looking down. "Uh... yeah, yeah, sure... that's it..." she replied, not wanting to go into detail about where that came from. Kelvin gave a soft smile back at her, and patted her shoulder assuringly.

"It's alright, look outside," he commented. "The storm finally stopped while you were asleep."

"It has, huh...?" replied Ría, elevating back up onto her knees and looking out, seeing the storm has now passed. She blinked for a few moments before allowing a subtle smile to form on her face. "... about time..."

"Yeah, I noticed you fall asleep so I stayed up to watch until it passed and to keep you protected if I had to," Kelvin said, yawning reluctantly. "Heh, obviously a little tired myself now, but it was worth it anyway. Couldn't let something happen to a fine lady like yourself. I figured you'd be happy to know the storm ended, which is why I woke you up now." He sat back down again to relax some and give her space again. The female Floatzel could only roll her eyes at his compliments, though isn't as defensive about being complimented now, seeing as how she may as well get used to it if she sees him more often.

"... Thanks, I guess..." she started, kind of awkwardly due to not being familiar with tones of gratitude. "... Kelvin, right?" Kelvin nodded and gave a faint smile.

"Yeah, that's right. Sorry if I'm still making you uncomfortable, it's not often anyone is willing to spend this long with me… especially not when they're as attractive as you are…" He gave a hesitant chuckle again, turning his head to the side nervously. "But anyway… the storm's gone now, so we can leave the shelter. I'm sure you'll want to head off on your own again, right?" Ría thought for a moment. Kelvin was the first person in a very long time to have actually bothered to help her and treat her well, let alone linger enough before being deterred by her uninterested self. She was still not fully convinced that she should trust him, though what he has done was very generous, and made her feel... rather welcome. With that, she rose out of the den, stretched and arched her frame with winding tails, then turned around and looked down at Kelvin.

"... guess it wouldn't hurt to hang out with ya a little longer." She smirked slyly afterwards. Kelvin looked somewhat surprised as he exited the den behind her and stood up as well.

"I… I'm glad to hear that…" he said with a smile creeping over him. He didn't expect to hear her say that, and it caught him off guard somewhat. But it was a pleasant surprise to know she wanted to spend more time with him, and stood over by her. "So, shall we go find something to do together?" She expected him to seem pleased, so she folded her arms, chuckling a little to herself.

In response to his question, she said, "Whatever ya feel like... ya lead?" Kelvin nodded and led the way off with her in tow, happy to finally have a friend and someone to hang around with. 'Now if only I can keep her friendship, that'd be a dream come true… or even something more…' he thought to himself, shaking his head to concentrate on reality for now.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As the weeks passed by, Kelvin and Ría gradually grew closer. Even though Ría had been uptight with Kelvin before, she had lately become friendlier with him as they spent more time together. Kelvin was enjoying getting to see her more frequently, and his mind began to drift into thinking about whether she was the one he had been looking for so long. But, the last thing he wanted to do was ruin any shot he had of being friends with her by trying to take it too far too soon, especially if she wasn't interested in him like that.

"I wish I knew what to do…" he said to himself, sighing softly as he sat by a tree watching the river. "I've never had someone spend this much time with me before, let alone someone as attractive as her… I can't even stop thinking about her anymore…" He bounced his head back against the tree a couple times before it resting it back, closing his eyes a moment to listen to the soothing sounds of the river.

Kelvin had picked out this spot to be his new "home" because of how close it was to the river, and how peaceful it could be while being somewhat secluded. It had a feeling of comfort that he liked, being able to sit by his tree and watch the water and relax when he wanted to get away. Not to mention nobody had it before, so it was all his to keep. Suddenly an image of Ría came to mind, causing him to snap back to reality quickly.

"Gah, fuck… guess I was starting to doze off there…" muttered Kelvin as he sat back up straight, scanning the area around him to make sure nobody was around still. "And I saw Ría again just then, too…" He let out a heavy sigh and slapped his forehead as he went to stand up. "Get a hold of yourself, Kelvin, she's just a friend… I need to get her off my mind somehow, maybe a good swim will help." He walked over to the shore and stared down in the water at his reflection a moment before putting his paws together over his head and diving into the cool liquid.

Kelvin felt more at ease as he swam through the water, coming up for air every now and then to rest a moment, stretching out his muscles and spinning his tails to go faster. It felt good being in here again, as if a heavy load had been lifted from his mind. His focus was just on swimming, getting some good old exercise and not thinking about Ría. It was like an escape for him to have something to distract his mind from her for a little while.

After a while, Kelvin came back over to the shore by his tree and climbed up out of the water. He breathed heavily as he shook his fur dry for a moment before making his way back to the tree to sit and relax.

"I feel much better now…" he said with a relieved sigh while catching his breath. "Though I certainly wore myself out… maybe I should try to rest to get my energy back again…" He stretched out and relaxed back against the tree with his arms behind his head, yawning as he slowly closed his eyes. He gave a soft sigh as he drifted to sleep, letting his mind go.

Suddenly he heard someone coming, and it sounded so familiar to him, as if Kelvin knew who it was. He picked himself up and looked for himself, seeing Ría approaching. 'Oh, it's her again… I wonder what she's coming here for…' he thought as he started making his way over to her. She spotted him and seemed to crack a smile, slowly walking his way as well.

"Hey there, stud," she said, giving a slight purr with it. Slightly surprised by the greeting, Kelvin tried to remain calm and returned the smile at her.

"Hello as well… I didn't expect to see you again so soon, what are you doing around here?"

"I was wonderin' where ya were…"

"O-oh… well, seems you found me then…" Kelvin nervously chuckled, still caught off guard by her sudden interest and different attitude from before. "Why were you looking for me exactly…?"

"What? We've been together for a couple of days... why not get 'ta know each other...?" she replied, sauntering over closer and placing a paw on his chest. Kelvin gasped a little at the sudden contact, but found himself welcoming her soft paw on his body and moving in closer as well.

"I guess that makes sense… but what is it you'd like to know?"

"What WOULDN'T I wanna know 'bout such a big guy…?" Ría replied, slowly moving her paw down his chest and looking up at him with her golden eyes, giving a seductive wink as she continued. "Other than _how_ big you are…?" Kelvin gasped a little while bringing one of his paws over to rest on her shoulder, curiously watching her movements now.

"Uhh… well, who am I to say no to such a fine lady like yourself…?" he nervously replied with a slight chuckle.

"'Fine'…? Me…?" she responded, giving a chuckle as well. "Ya think so, hm…?" With that, she moved her paws down his body further, rubbing in between Kelvin's legs. His heart began to race as his legs started shaking, half-closing one of his eyes at the feeling.

"Gah… y-yeah, I sure do…" he said under his breath. His thoughts were getting so caught up in what she was doing to him that he didn't realize his paws had slid down to her chest as well; or that he was beginning to grow aroused. Slowly his penis began poking free from its sheath to look out. Ría glanced down, noticing her work was taking effect and chuckled some more.

"Well well… what do we have _here_…?" she said in a sly voice, looking up to smirk at Kelvin.

"Uhh… n-nothing…" he replied with a nervous laugh, growing anxious as he watched her closely. Ría lowered her head down towards his crotch, her mouth open ready to accept it, when suddenly…

Kelvin snapped awake quickly, breathing heavily. He looked around frantically, and down at himself, realizing he was all alone the entire time. "Gah… fuck, it was just a dream… maybe I should go look for her, I need to know if she feels the same way about me…" He shook his head and stood up, yawning a little as he stretched out, then walked off in search of Ría.

Ría sat alone by the banks of the river, staring forward lost in thought. She'd spent a lot of time with that male Floatzel lately, and was starting to really like him, but she'd never had someone interested in her before. She couldn't decide if it was all worth it or if he was seriously someone she could trust, or even if he was being honest about his feelings.

"Nh… I dunno if I should keep taggin' along…" she thought aloud with a sigh, dropping her head to look at the ground. "I know I wanted to start a new life away from home, but… not sure if I wanna spend it with somebody… 'sides, he'll probably want me gone like everyone else…" She leaned forward a little to idly trace the surface of the water with her fingers, keeping her mind off Kelvin for now. Suddenly, she heard a faint rustling sound in the distance approaching, quickly grabbing her attention. "Eh? Someone's comin'…" Slowly she picked herself up from the river to investigate the noise, keeping herself on guard for whatever it could be.

Kelvin continued trudging along, holding a paw over his eyes to help scout the area for her, hoping to see her soon. "She's gotta be around here somewhere, I think…" he muttered to himself, continuing to look around. Then from the corner of his eye he noticed the bright orange fur, and turned his attention to see Ría coming up from near the river. "Ah, there she is."

She seemed a little surprised by seeing Kelvin here, right now, unexpected like this. 'Wonder what he's doing here like this…?' she thought to herself, and so she slowly approached him, her eyes nervously glancing side-to-side as she lifted a paw up and waved lightly. " ... 'Ey..."

"Well, hello again, Ría… I'm glad I found you…" Kelvin said, a small smile come over him with a sigh of relief accompanying it. He tried to raise a paw to wave warmly at her as well, but it was still rather obvious from his body language how nervous he was. She studied him for a moment, curious if there was something special about this visit since he seemed uncomfortable.

"… um… somethin' up?"

"Oh, well… I was just thinking about… uh, something…" Kelvin started to explain, unable hide his nervousness. Ría's expression barely shifted, but it was from curiosity nonetheless. After all, Kelvin is the only one nearby, and whatever it was, something had him preoccupied. Rolling her eyes, Ría slowly crossed her arms and piqued an eye up at him. "... what is it?" she asked sternly.

"Erk… well, you see… I was trying to sleep and… couldn't help but think of you…" he replied, seemingly getting more nervous as he continued. After a short pause, her attention was more firmly gripped, but along with it came a very faint chill of anxiety that rode down her spine. A brief pause took place before she blinked and spoke up once more, her tails swaying awkwardly.

" ... thinkin' 'bout me? ... uh... ... _how?_ " Kelvin swallowed heavily, shaking a bit as he turned his head to the side, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Uhh… w-well, intimately…?" he gave a nervous chuckle, fearing the worst. "I'm sorry if it offends you, you're just… such a beautiful and attractive Floatzel… I feel like I'm falling in love with you, and it's just hard to stop thinking about you lately… you understand, right?"

The female Floatzel couldn't believe her ears. She felt as if she misheard, or as if Kelvin was just making this up. Never did she think that she'd be in a position such as this, figuratively pressed against the wall by another person's emotions. After a long pause, she gulped deeply and glanced at Kelvin with some concern, as she has never had encountered someone having feelings for her, confused about how to respond. "Uhh..." she began, an obviously nervous quake present in her tone. "... K-Kelvin? ... Um... are... are you... _serious?_ ... _Me?_ "

"Yeah, I'm sure…" Kelvin said with a small nod, taking a couple steps closer. "I've never met anybody like you before, sticking by me this long without issue… and you're good looking, too… I'm probably setting myself up for rejection by telling you this, but… I felt it was something important that you should know." He tried to force a smile as well, but the nervousness was overwhelming him as he waited to see how she'd react.

" ... nh... " sighed Ría, turning to the side as she lowered her head. She wasn't prepared for a proposal such as this, especially not so soon. Ría sooner expected Kelvin to grow tired of her cold and uninterested atmosphere and abandon her like her friends have, let alone make friends or even have a crush developed for her. ' ... does this stuff happen this fast...?' she started thinking, nervously looking back at Kelvin before turning back. ' He's an... okay guy... gotta give the big lug credit for putting up with me for so damn long... just... just didn't think he was into me at ALL... but what... what do I do 'bout this? ' Whining from a little frustration, she sucked in a deep breath, exhaled, then spun back around up to Kelvin, her eyes hooded due to afterthought, and arms folded again.

"Well... that's, uh... real... nice of you, I guess..." she shrugged, struggling for the right tone on how to handle this situation. "T'be honest... I figured you would've been long gone before you started thinkin' about me this far, but..." Ría sighed once more. "... mind givin' me some ... I dunno, 'time' to think 'bout this, or whatever...?" She asked, recalling a technique Emine used when faced against Zeke.

"Oh, of course… no problem at all, I wouldn't want to force you to decide anything so soon…" Kelvin replied, trying to keep a comforting smile. "Take all the time you need…" Ría blinked a little, surprised herself at how smoothly it went, even with her rocky and bland responses.

"Alright, thanks, thanks..." she responded, turning around and glancing back at him with a half waved paw before walking off. " ... see ya later...?"

"Yeah… bye for now, Ría…" Kelvin replied with a wave of his own as he watched her walk off. He let out a small sigh as he turned around to walk off after she was far enough out of sight. "Now to see what happens… probably won't be interested in me, though… but at least I got that off my chest without issue."

A few days passed, and Ría had been trying to avoid Kelvin to think things over and figure out what she should do. She'd been thinking long and hard about what he'd said before, about falling for her and liking how she looked.

"This guy's… actually LIKIN' me…? He doesn't find me boring or anything…?" she wondered aloud, letting out a stressful sigh while scratching at the back of her neck. It was driving her mad not knowing what to do, and she didn't have anybody to ask either. "Surprised the guy's stomached bein' with me for so long… let alone takin' a liking to me… though I still can't believe he's lovin' on me… what should I do?" She lifted her head and rested it back against the tree as she looked up to the sky. "F'only Emine was here… or if she was still my friend…" Ría let out a heavy sigh and dropped her head again.

The sky above was beginning to change to a golden-orange hue as Ría gulped hard, starting to get a headache from making such a difficult decision. After growling from pressure, she finally came to a decision and sat up a little. "How 'bout… I give 'im a chance for a while… like, I dunno… a week maybe? If he's worth my time, then…" She shrugged, her voice getting more hesitant sounding from strain, pressure, and confusion. "I guess I could go with it for a bit longer… yeah, that'll work… 'n' if it's not goin' well, I can just tell 'im up front. He's a big guy… I'm sure he can take a hint…" She let out another sigh of uneasiness and looked around. "Maybe I should look for 'im then…" After a moment she picked herself up off the ground and headed off on her way to look for him.

In the meantime, Kelvin was off by his tree, trying to stay calm. He'd been waiting the past few days to see or hear from Ría again, but he hadn't seen her around. It was killing him to know what she was up to, to see if she'd come to any conclusions. "Ugh, I sure hope I didn't scare her off completely by coming on too strong too fast…" he said with a worried sigh. "It's been a few days already, I hope she's doing fine… but worrying about it isn't going to do me any good, I just need to remain calm already. She'll come around when she's ready…" He looked down at the ground, sounding a bit worried again as he continued. "… right?"

Suddenly he heard some rustling coming his way, and the sound of footsteps. Alertly Kelvin looked up towards the source of the noise and stood up in a slightly defensive position. "Eh? Who's there?" he called out, showing confidence that he wasn't afraid of whatever it was.

"'Ey…" Ría greeted as she emerged slowly, waving a paw in a half-assed manner to him, looking a little hesitant as she approached. Kelvin relaxed and waved back with a small smile, returning with a "Hello" of his own.

"So… I've been… well, y'know… thinkin' about what you said, and… I… uhh…" She stumbled over her words, reaching up to rub the back of her head while nervously glancing at the ground.

"What is it, Ría?" Kelvin replied, looking a little confused by her hesitance, not used to seeing someone act this way, especially not her.

"Nnh..." she groaned, still giving off her inexperienced air about this situation, until after a few more seconds, she huffs frustratedly, takes in a deep breath, and finally relaxes. "Lemme just... say it like this," she stated bluntly, hardly any unsteadiness remaining in her tone, now taking the moment seriously. "I'm... gonna... offer ya a deal... See, I decided... I'll basically... ehh, play along - No, GO along with your... lovin', or whatever, on me... okay? What I mean is... I'll take it for now and we'll see how it goes." Afterwards, Ría folded her arms and leaned her side against the bark of the tree, maintaining a stern glance at Kelvin. "... If I decide you're worth my time, then... maybe, I dunno... maybe I'll take ya." Her gaze then sharpened, as if to emphasize the more consequential side of her explanation. " ... but... if ya don't fit the bill for me... then we'll just forget it." A rush of relief brushed over Ría after managing to explain her decision and offer, picking herself up and letting herself loosen slightly from her tense impression. " ... deal?"

Kelvin stood by and listened to all she had to say, not interrupting to make sure he didn't miss anything. Once she had finished, he took a moment to take it all in, looking a little relieved himself as he looked at her. "Well, that sounds fine to me… thanks for giving me a chance then…" he smiled with relief. "I promise to be good to you, I'll make it worth your time…" Ría tapped one of her own arms and piqued an eye at Kelvin's response, somewhat skeptic, but believing him for the time being, as there's no one else she knows as long as him.

"Eh... we'll see, okay? Just... don't go too fast... or whatever."

"Right, sorry… I'm just happy to know I'm not alone anymore, feel really relieved…" He gave a reassuring smile and held an arm out, asking for a hug if she was open to it. The female Floatzel blinked at the held out arm, not sure what the signal or suggestion is. Trying to be cooperative on her end of the promise, she holds out an arm of her own, looking confused but at least a little willing to what Kelvin's offering, which can be seen as an invitation of her own. He chuckled a bit and took it as a signal she was okay with it, stepping forward to half-hug her.

"I didn't want to make you uncomfortable with a sudden hug… so I was making sure it was okay first," he said quietly to her. "Never too early to get used to each other, right?" Ría winced as their arms locked into each other and caused them to press together, not used to the closeness nor the warmth, but she glances to the side and breathes out, her eyes nearly closed.

"... Nh, yeah..." she muttered in a following fashion, "... guess you're right... we both made a deal, so... guess I gotta suck it up sometime, huh?"

"Yeah, but I can let you still have space if you'd prefer…" he replied while backing off a little after a moment. He glanced up at the darkening sky then back at her. "It's getting dark… would you like to stay here with me tonight? Wouldn't hurt keeping each other company for the night after all…" Ría mumbles slightly, taking the time to focus on her environment now that Kelvin has brought it up.

"Uhh..." she stuttered, glancing up as well, noticing the sky's been blanketed with star-spotted darkness. "... huh... I didn't notice how much time went by..." Surprised, Ría blinks for a few moments, then turns back to Kelvin, gulping slightly. "... eh... sure, why not...?"

"Heh, yeah, I hadn't noticed before either…" Kelvin smiled a little as he sat back against the tree, slumping a little. "Can rest against me if you'd like… might be more comfy than the ground…"

"... hm..." debated the female Floatzel yet again, tapping her foot slightly, toes patting the grass, before shrugging once more and nodding, now starting to feel more bold, in the comfortable fashion. "... guess I can give it a shot... just don't get used to it on the first shot, 'kay big guy?" She warned, as she slowly lowered herself nearby.

"No problem, anything to help my new mate feel comfortable…" Kelvin said, yawning a little himself. She leaned against him cautiously, squirming in place for a moment before getting her head and neck in a comfortable position against Kelvin's body. She paused against him, silent for a moment, taking the moment to take in the warmth of his body before sighing, rolling her eyes, and gradually sliding her eyes closed, now beginning to relax into slumber. He sat back and watched her get in a comfortable position before relaxing, looking up to the sky again a moment. "I sure hope this time's different… I don't think I could handle another one night stand…" With a sigh, he looked back down at her again and said a quick "Good night, Ría…" before drifting off to sleep his own self.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Come on, it's just a little further ahead," Kelvin called out as he walked along through the forest with Ría. "There's a good amount of fish to catch around here most of the time, so we should be able to get some up here." The couple had been together for a few weeks now and gradually had been spending more time together to get closer to each other, still giving the other time to be alone when desired. Things had been going well to this point, and now they were going to try fishing together for a change to see how well it'd work.

"Nnh, I'm gettin' there, hold on..." she sighed, tagging a little bit behind with lack of interest. She casually stepped through the woods with her arms folded behind her head, arching her body back and letting out a tender yawn, one eye winced as to keep track of where she's walking.

"Well, don't take too long then, don't want to have to catch everything myself after all," he replied. He hurried along a bit more until reaching the shore and turned to look back as she slowly approached. "Here we are, how do you think we should do this then?" Ría looked out over the water, noticing how quiet the area was, which seemed ideal for catching fish.

"I'd rather catch my own… so I'd say we should both fish on our own, catch what ya want, then come back when we're done," she suggested.

"Sounds fine with me, should be easier anyway to catch whatever you want," Kelvin said as he turned back to the river. "Let's get going then." He jumped into the river and swam off underwater, leaving Ría behind to come in when she was ready. She winced a bit from getting splashed slightly by his dive, taking a moment before jumping in for herself.

Time passed quickly as the two Floatzel swam around in the river fishing, occasionally coming up to catch their breath before going back under. They mostly stayed on their own to not interrupt the other, but a few times came close enough to see how the other was doing. Kelvin spotted a good-looking fish and smiled, thinking to himself how good a meal that one could make. He swam after it, his twin tails churning behind him like propellers to gain more speed in pursuit. He got up close and reached out to grab it, but just missed, causing him to get a little frustrated by it. He continued after it still, until a sound from the surface caught his attention, causing him to lose focus on the fish. Disgruntled by the failure as he saw the fish get away, Kelvin went back up to the surface and took a deep breath.

"Damnit, let it get away…" he complained, smacking the water with a paw in frustration. Then he heard the sounds again coming from beyond some nearby trees on the shore. "What's that sound anyway? That must be what distracted me…" He swam towards the shore to listen for it more closely, the sound becoming clearer to him now. "Hm… sounds like talking… maybe I should get Ría and go check it out with her…" He went back to look for her again, stopping to let her finish catching a fish for herself. They went back to the shore together so she could enjoy her fish.

"… What is it?" she asked while getting the fish ready to eat.

"I heard some talking out beyond some trees down that way," Kelvin replied, motioning to where he was fishing at before. "I thought we should check together in case it's something we should be worried about." Ría stood there for a moment in silence, taking in any nearby echoes. Before Kelvin could speak again out of awkwardness, Ría replied casually, "... I... kinda hear it. But... ya sure ya wanna go there? It may not be any of our business."

"Well, can't be sure who or what it is unless we look into it," Kelvin responded. "Or I could check it out myself if you're not interested. No point making you do something you don't want to do, after all." Annoyed, though knowing they, let alone herself, have nothing else better to do, Ría shrugged and folded her arms with a neutral look.

"... eh..." she muttered, "... guess it couldn't hurt..."

"Then let's go take a look," Kelvin said as he turned to lead the way over to the noise. Ría slowly followed along behind him after a moment. As they continued together, the sound of the voices got louder and more distinct.

"This whole forest would be better off without that guy…" stated someone with a tomboyish female tone. Kelvin slowly inched his way into some nearby bushes to listen and see if he could hear more of the discussion before looking to see who it was.

"I know what you mean… he's such a jerk…" chimed in another, who reminded Kelvin of a nervous childlike boy. Kelvin looked back towards Ría and nodded his head over to the group.

"Sounds like they're talking about someone… but they don't sound particularly threatening to me…" whispered Kelvin as to not draw attention to himself.

"... Uhh..." mumbled the female Floatzel, curious as to who the distant group are referring to. "... Ya think we should go up to 'em?" She asked to Kelvin in a silent tone.

"Yeah, I'll stay in front just in case," he answered and slowly came up from bush to come out in front. Suddenly a very timid sounding female voice was heard, as if she heard the rumbling of the bushes.

"Huh? What was that sound?"

"What is it, Cinnamon?" asked the tomboy.

"I think I heard something over there in the bushes…"

"You don't think it's… _him_, right…?" asked the boy, sounding scared.

"It better not be. Besides, it's three on one, he'd stand no chance against all of us at once," the tomboy said with a bold, confident voice. "Come on out and show yourself!" Kelvin and Ría both glanced to each other for a moment before emerging from the bushes to come forward, revealing themselves to the group of Pokémon. They looked around, noticing a small Pachirisu with a red stripe instead of blue who looked rather young and frightened nearby. Next to him was a Lopunny, who was also noticeably nervous, with a strange marking on her forehead and hips. And finally there was a tomboyish looking Furret, staring at them. The group seemed to relax after a moment.

"Hey there… sorry for scaring you guys, hope we're not bothering you at all…" Kelvin said meekly, waving a paw to show no harm. The three relaxed a little, but the Furret remained skeptical still.

"Who are you guys for one? And why are you here?" she asked in a curious tone.

"I'm Kelvin, and that's my mate Ría," Kelvin introduced, motioning back her way. Ría lazily waved at them as well, feeling a bit awkward how he referred to her as his "mate." She was still so new to this whole thing that it still felt weird to hear that term. "We came here because we heard you guys talking about something, and we were curious as to what."

"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all!" the Furret replied, trying to sound innocent as if she had no idea what he meant. "Also, before I forget, my name's Mya. The Pachi there is Scaevola, but we all call him Scae, and the Lop's Cinnamon." The other two waved at the couple as well with their intros, Scae using his left paw as opposed to his right like the others. They both gave a quiet "Hello" in unison before going back to sitting quietly, letting Mya do the talking.

"Why do I get the feeling you're not being honest with us…?" asked Ría, raising an eyebrow at her. Mya just smirked and tried to string together a reply.

"What gives you that idea? We weren't talking about anything," she responded.

"Sure didn't sound like nothing, I heard something about a "him" and that Scaevola guy sounded nervous about it. So why're you hiding it from us?" Kelvin chimed in, stepping closer to her with a stern look on his face. She backed away a couple steps before snickering.

"Fine, fine, you got me… I just love playing tricks on people for fun is all, and you guys seemed so clueless about it I couldn't help it," she said with a chuckle. Ría simply rolled her eyes in disgust and crossed her arms as she stared at her, while Kelvin gave a disgruntled look. Mya continued after gathering herself. "Sorry about that. We were just talking about the infamous Cinder, and can never be too careful with him." The Floatzel looked at each other, realizing neither of them had heard of this "Cinder" guy.

"Uhh… who's Cinder?" Kelvin asked. The three looked stunned at him for not knowing.

"You mean… you don't know him…?" gasped Scae in a nervous tone. "Good thing you haven't met him yet then…"

"What's so bad about 'im?" Ría questioned.

"Well… once I was sitting around in a bush to hide from predators so I could groom myself…" Cinnamon began to explain, looking even more scared just to remember the story. "Then I heard something and stopped, and next thing I know there's a big paw reaching into the bushes and grabbed my arm… then this loud booming voice followed and I tried to struggle free, but I couldn't get loose…" She paused for a moment to collect herself.

"Who was it that grabbed you? What happened?" Kelvin asked, looking a little concerned as he stared at the shaking Lopunny girl.

"It… it was Cinder… h-he raped me there… then k-kicked me in the chest when he was d-done before leaving… it was horrible…" she replied, covering her face as she tried to relax. Mya came over to pat her on the shoulder to help calm her down.

"Yeesh, that's awful… no wonder you're afraid of this guy…" Ría said quietly. "Sorry that happened to ya."

"My case wasn't quite as bad as that, but I've had my own run-in with him, too," Mya commented, looking back over at them while still trying to help calm Cinnamon down. "I hid in a bush because I heard someone coming and thought it'd be funny to stick my leg out and trip them. So I put my leg out there, it turned out to be Cinder who came along, and he tripped over me like I expected. And of course I laughed about it since it was pretty amusing, but I forgot to check who it was."

"So what happened to you then?" Kelvin asked. Even without knowing her for long, he got the feeling she must do that kind of thing a lot, so he'd have to watch out.

"Well, he heard me laughing, stalked over and shouted 'So you think that's funny, huh bitch?' I didn't recognize him at the time, so I didn't know if he was angry or being sarcastic with me. I told him I thought it was, then he pulled me out of the bush and beat me up for it. After he was done, he sort of laughed in a mocking way at me and said 'Still funny now, bitch?', then he left." When she finished, Mya looked down at the ground. "I swear, some people just can't take a joke…"

"Geez, this guy sure sounds like a bastard. No wonder you all hate him," Kelvin remarked, feeling some sympathy for the girls after hearing their stories. Ría looked over to Scae, who seemed to be nervous as well hearing all this.

"How about you then, little guy? Did this Cinder do anything to you?" she asked with a kind tone to make him feel a little more comfortable. Scae glanced over towards her and shamefully nodded, lowering his head again to look at her feet.

"Yeah… I went and collected some berries for myself before and was taking them back to a tree with me to store away for later… and then Cinder came along and told me to hand them over," he began, shaking a little nervously. "I told him they were mine so I wouldn't do it, and it made him angry. So he came over and beat me up, then stole all of them… though he also threw one of them at my face before he left, too…"

"Poor kid…" Ría responded. "How could anyone be such a jerk to a kid like that?" Kelvin shrugged and looked up towards Mya again.

"So, what is this guy anyway?" he asked.

"He's a huge shiny Typhlosion, bigger than any Typhlosion I've ever seen before. It's hard to miss him, really," Mya answered.

"Thanks for the heads up, we'll both be careful to watch out for him then," Kelvin replied, looking back over to Ría. "Hopefully neither of us will have to deal with him, though."

"Right, last thing any of us need is meeting THAT guy," she agreed with a nod. Suddenly there was another rustling sound coming their way, and everybody shifted their attention to the source. The two Floatzel didn't know what to expect, but the others seemed to remain calm. After several moments of anxious waiting, the sound closing in on their location, a furry head popped up from the bushes that looked similar to Mya. The creature emerged further to reveal itself to be a male Furret, looking around and noticing the two unfamiliar Pokémon.

"Huh? Who are those two?" he asked, curiously coming closer to the two of them with his nose twitching as he tried to catch their scent.

"This is Kelvin and Ría, they're a couple Floatzel who found us. They didn't know who Cinder was so we explained it to them," Mya explained, glancing back over to them. "Guys, this is Acelin. He's highly skilled at scouting, so we use him to look out for Cinder when we're worried about where he is." Ace waved a paw with a friendly smile.

"Well, pleased to meet you guys. Any friend of Mya's is certainly a friend of mine," he responded. The two waved back at him and gave a greeting of their own. "Anyway, just came to report that I haven't seen Cinder around today, so I think we should be safe for now."

"That's a relief…" sighed Cinnamon. "I hope this means none of us have to deal with him then…"

"It should, but you can never be too sure with Cinder," Ace warned. "I'd still keep an eye out and watch your back, he's not the type to stay in hiding for a long time. If you guys need me, you know where to find me." He turned around and prepared to leave. Mya and the others nodded as they waved to him.

"Wait, where exactly would we find you at?" Kelvin asked before he could go. Ace looked back over his shoulder at him, taking a good look at the Floatzel, almost admiring his body.

"I wouldn't think a guy like you would need my help, but if you insist… you can always ask Mya or one of them. I'll see you guys around now," he replied, then turned and scurried off again into some bushes. Kelvin turned back to the others as the male Furret left.

"Well, guess I'll count on you guys if we need him in that case," he said with a shrug. "Nice meeting all of you, too."

"Okay, see you two lovebirds later then," Mya said with a smirk as she waved. Scae and Cinnamon also waved their good byes to them as the two Floatzel walked off together. Mya looked back over at her two friends after. "Man, that Kelvin sure is sexy, I wouldn't mind seeing him around again… though his girlfriend isn't too bad to look at, either." She chuckled to herself a little.

"Heh, y-yeah… especially their feet…" Scae muttered shyly with a nervous blush and a smile. Mya laughed a little more and rubbed his head as she replied with a friendly "You would be checking out that on them, huh?" He nodded shyly and looked down. In the meantime, Kelvin and Ría were on their way back towards the river to relax together again.

Later that night, Kelvin was back by his own tree relaxing, his fur all wet from just recently swimming in the river for some exercise. He yawned and stretched out as he leaned back against the tree, placing his arms behind his head.

"Hm, today wasn't too bad… finally starting to make some new friends around here, so I can't complain…" he said to himself with a sigh. "Though that whole thing about Cinder they warned us about has me a little worried… what if he comes after Ría…?" He shook his head and tried to forget about it. "Now isn't the time to worry about that… she's a strong girl, she can defend herself. For now I should just try and get some sleep…"

He leaned back against the tree again, closing his eyes and trying to rest, his necklace hanging around his neck still. But as much as he tried, Kelvin couldn't fall asleep and was restless in his efforts. Every time he closed his eyes, the image of Ría came to mind, occasionally images of her in danger. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore and slowly picked himself up.

"Ugh, I can't sleep… I keep worrying about her too much…" he moaned to himself, looking around and noticing how dark it was already. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to go look for her and maybe spend the night with her, make sure she's protected." With his plan in mind, he climbed to his feet and started to walk along, following the sounds of the river to lead his way. As Kelvin walked along, he began to hear some faint sounds of bushes rustling. He thought nothing of it as he continued, figuring it was just the wind. But the noise continued, growing louder as if something was coming closer.

"The hell is that sound…?" he questioned, stopping a moment to look around. "Argh, too dark to see anything, I can't tell…" The sound grew louder and clearer, almost like quiet footsteps approaching. Kelvin was on guard now, slowly turning towards the source of the sound and tried to remain calm. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Suddenly a large looking creature's shadow appeared nearby in the bushes. A low, evil laugh came from the bush as the creature stepped out closer.

"Heh heh, wouldn't you like to know?" responded the creature in a menacing voice. Then flames suddenly flared up from its back, showing a large and shiny-coloured Typhlosion. He smirked at Kelvin as the flames lit up the area, noticing the necklace around his neck. "Well well, what do we have here? A punk like you all by yourself in the forest… and that thing around your neck looks just as stupid as you do, too. I think I'll be taking that with me so I can smash it to pieces!"

"Who are you calling stupid? And no you won't, this necklace is mine!" Kelvin protested, trying not to show his fear. But as he got a good look at the Typhlosion, he realized the description Mya and the others gave fit this guy very well. "… Wait a second, you're Cinder! That bully who's been torturing everyone in this forest!" Cinder smirked and laughed heartily again at him.

"Ha, guess my reputation is more well known than I thought! Then I guess this should be a lot easier than I thought," Cinder replied, then pointed at Kelvin. "Now how about you be a good little bitch and hand over that necklace?" He flashed an evil grin, showing his fangs, and outstretched his claws while still pointing. "Or do I have to take it from you by force? The choice is all yours."

"You're not taking anything, you asshole! I made this necklace myself, and I don't plan on giving it to someone like YOU!" Kelvin shouted, moving into a fighting position. Cinder smirked again, giving a smug look as he raised his head a bit.

"Ha! This oughta be more fun than I thought pounding you to a bloody pulp AND taking that piece shit!" He raised his fist high above his head as it burst into flames, throwing a hard Fire Punch right into Kelvin's cheek. Kelvin's eyes widened seeing the attack coming, but wasn't able to react in time from how fast it came at him, stumbling to the side holding his cheek after the hit.

"Gah, shit! He's strong… I've gotta watch him more carefully…" he muttered to himself, feeling how warm his cheek felt from the lingering effects of the punch. He regained his focus after a moment and looked back to Cinder, who was menacingly stepping over with a wide toothy grin. "Now it's my turn!" He quickly tried firing a Water Gun at Cinder, figuring he should have the advantage because it's Fire vs. Water. But somehow Cinder avoided the attack with what looked like relative ease, and before Kelvin knew what happened, the Typhlosion was flying through the air at him and crash landed on top of him, slamming both to the ground heavily.

"I was right, you aren't so tough!" Cinder scoffed as he picked himself up after a moment, snickering at him. Kelvin groaned painfully on the ground as the large Pokemon got off, slowly sitting up again. He took a look at the ground next to him and got an idea.

"Y-yeah, we'll see about that!" he shouted before firing a quick blast of water at the ground and using a Mud Slap on him. Cinder flinched as the mud pelted against his chest with enough force to push him back a couple steps. He regained his balance and growled loudly after the attack.

"So, think this is some kind of game, eh bitch? Enough playing around!" he shouted angrily and stomped over, his large frame casting a shadow over Kelvin. He reached down for the Floatzel seated on the ground, grabbing him by the fur under his neck with a paw to lift him up and raise him to eye level, staring at him with a grin. "How about now, bitch? Think you're strong still?" Kelvin winced in pain, grabbing Cinder's arm and flailing his legs helplessly.

"G-gah, let go of me!" he shouted, trying to get free.

"Certainly…" replied Cinder as he smirked, then turned and thrusted the Floatzel hard against the side of tree almost effortlessly. Kelvin crashed hard into the tree face first, his limbs wrapping around it a moment before he fell onto his back with a loud groan of pain. "There, I let go, happy now?" Cinder laughed, slowly stepping over again.

"Agh…!" Kelvin shouted out, struggling to pick himself up, his whole head and body aching now from the blow. "I d-didn't mean like that…!" He noticed Cinder coming his way and panicked, almost in too much pain to defend himself now. In desperation he tilted his head back against the ground and shot another Water Gun back at him. The attack hit, causing Cinder to stumble back with a loud angry snarl, shivering from the cold moistness of the water on his fur.

"Gck! … That's it bitch, I've had enough of you!" he shouted, the fire on his back flaring up higher with his growing rage. He stormed over again, pressing his foot down hard on Kelvin's chest against his ribs, digging the claws of his toes into him a little to add a bit more pain to it. Kelvin cried out painfully from the large, strong foot against his sore ribs, wincing and shuddering more from the claws digging in slightly as well.

"Gah, fuck! Th-that's too much, stop! I'll g-give it to you if you let m-me go!" he pleaded, desperate for the pain to stop. He wanted to fight back, but was growing weak from all the pain and his exhaustion from how late it was.

"Too late for that, you little punk! I ain't letting you off the hook that easily!" Cinder responded, smirking down at him. Sparks began to crackle off his fur, inducing fear into Kelvin as he heard the sound of electricity nearby. He tried to open his eyes to look, noticing it was really coming from Cinder, causing him to make a scared gasp.

"Wh-what the…? What kind of monster are you? How do you know electric attacks?" he said in a panic, wanting desperately to get away but knowing he can't.

"Heh, wouldn't YOU like to know?" Cinder replied with a menacing smile. After a moment, he unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt down into Kelvin, holding him still with his foot and smiling as his victim cried out painfully from the attack. Once he was finished, he looked down and removed his foot. "Well, you sure got a lot of fight in you, punk, but this oughta teach you to mess with me. Do yourself a favor and listen next time, and maybe I won't be so rough on you." He grinned and leaned down close, yanking the necklace away from Kelvin's neck and dangling it in his face. "I'll take that, thank you." Then he stood back up and walked away, satisfied with his victory and laughing to himself.

"Ugh… th-that hurt… I f-feel so, gh… so weak now…" Kelvin muttered weakly to himself. "And he got my necklace… I g-gotta get it back…" Slowly he felt himself slipping in and out of consciousness, the pain too much to handle now. After a moment he was unconscious on the ground, his head dropping to the side, his bruised and beaten body left to rest by the tree alone.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ría woke up from her sleep next to a shady tree near the riverbank. The morning sun shined down through the forest cover nearby as she yawned and stretched out. She sat up and rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes and looked around.

"Nh, mornin' already…? Eh, might as well go and find somethin' to eat…" she mumbled, slowly climbing to her feet to go and look. "Maybe even see what Kelvin's up to…" With a tired shrug, she slumped off to find both her boyfriend and some berries to eat. She glanced around at the various bushes, looking for the right one that she liked best. "Hm, not findin' the right one yet…" she said with a sigh. As she continued to walk along, she suddenly tripped over something that felt rather big lying on the ground. She let out an alarmed noise as she crashed to the ground, pulling herself up after a moment.

"Gah! The hell was that?" she grumbled, hearing whatever she tripped over groaning somewhat. She looked back to see who or what it was, and was astonished. "Wha? What the hell? Kelvin!" She quickly got up and grabbed Kelvin by the shoulders, shaking him in an attempt to get a response. What happened to you? C'mon, wake up!"

"Ungh…" he groaned, waking up in a daze and slowly opening his eyes. "R-Ría? Is that you…?" He winced again, realizing how sore his body felt. "Gah, fuck… my body hurts so much…"

"Ya got me a li'l riled up," Ría sighed and shook her head, looking back down at him and continued with a more serious and concerned tone. "What the hell did ya do? What happened to you? And why are you all the way out here?" Kelvin slowly pulled himself up and shamefully looked down.

"I was trying to come see you last night to make sure you were fine… and then…" he paused for a moment to collect himself, ashamed to admit what happened. "Then that jerk Cinder came around… the bastard wanted my necklace and I wouldn't give it to him, so he beat me up and stole it from me…" He groaned painfully again and held his head. "Bastard's fucking strong… knocked me unconscious and then he left…" Her eyes were chilled with anxiety, disbelief and some fear. She's not used to feeling concerned for someone before, but the Floatzel was really shaken.

"You're kiddin me…" Ría struggled to bring Kelvin up to his weak feet while leaning him to a nearby tree for support, looking at him sternly. "... what else can ya tell me about this ass named 'Cinder?' What was he?"

"For one, he's huge… bigger than any Typhlosion I've ever seen…" he began, trying to hold himself up. His body was shaking audibly from struggling to stay upright. "It was dark, so it's hard to say how he looked exactly… but I think he had red fur as well instead of blue, like a shiny or something…" He looked up at her a moment. "I'm sorry if it's not helpful enough, it's hard to think when I'm in so much pain…" Shaking her head with a heavy sigh, Ría helped Kelvin a little off of the tree in an effort to help him regain his balance, blinking at him.

"Looks like we won't be restin' easy knowing a big bastard like that is around, huh...?" Chuckling mildly from her own dark humor, the female Floatzel attempted to help Kelvin walk. She could feel the slumping weakness of his body, but didn't let that frustrate her. "C'mon... we can't stay here."

"Yeah, probably better we go somewhere safer…" Kelvin replied with a small nod, putting his arm around her to hold himself up as they walked off together. He winced at each painful step, trying to carry his own weight as to not depend too heavily on her to move, and shamefully stared down at the ground. "I still can't believe I let that asshole beat me so easily… or let him take my necklace…"

"S'not like I had high hopes for ya..." Ría remarked bluntly, rolling her eyes a little as she kept half-lugging Kelvin back to their usual resting area. "'Sides... this means ya know one of his tricks, right? Next time ya see 'im... ya can get around him, right?" The Floatzel patted Kelvin's shoulder reassuringly, trying to raise his spirit up, not wanting to hear him whine so much. "For now, just take the time to ease yourself... ya look like ya need it." He nodded and stayed quiet as they continued along.

"I'll just try to rest it off for now… but I'll hunt that bitch down and get my necklace back one of these days…" Ría just shook her head and smirked, not surprised by her mate's feistiness, but still hoped he'd be smart enough to wait first.

After a short while longer, they made it back to Kelvin's usual resting spot under a shady tree by the river. Ría helped him to sit down before standing back upright again and looking around.

"Alright, just give me a moment, n' I'll fetch some berries for ya," she said, before walking away to hunt around, leaving the injured male Floatzel alone by the tree. Kelvin sat back, staring at the ground and sighed as she walked away. He felt so weak being seen in such a condition by his girlfriend, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Besides, that wasn't a fair fight at all; he was caught off guard and over-powered by Cinder. Now the focus was just accepting her help, taking revenge on that bastard, and getting his necklace back again. "Yo, Kelvin, I'm back," called out Ría, snapping him out of his little world, with a few different berries in her arms.

"Oh, right… looks like you found quite a few there," Kelvin responded, slowly raising his head to look at her again. The collection of Oran and Sitrus berries was quite modest, along with a couple others. Ría set them down in a pile near him and sat down, picking one up that she'd picked for herself.

"Eat as many as ya like," she said in a passing tone as she took a bite of her berry. Kelvin looked at them for a moment, before picking out one he liked and started eating.

"Thanks… I appreciate the help…" Kelvin replied with a grateful smile, forcing it more than anything to try and show he was fine. He quietly continued eating his fill of the berries until he felt better, the pain disappearing from his body. He leaned back to relax somewhat, sighing. "I feel better physically now… but until I get my necklace back, I'm not completely fine. We'll need to find that bastard and get it back."

"And how do ya plan to do that?" Ría responded as she finished eating the berries she'd picked for herself. "It's not like we know where the guy is."

"Well, _we_ don't know, but maybe those guys we met before do. You know, Mya and her friends."

"Eh..." she muttered, looking to the side with a little uncertainty. With a faint shrug, she turned her glance back to Kelvin. "... guess we can take a shot at that. Who knows... maybe they caught a glimpse of that slimy jerk." Kelvin nodded and stood up with her.

"Let's go find one of them then, I'm sure they can help somehow." With that the two headed off to search for their new friends.

They looked for around for a while until finally coming across the lean Furret girl, Mya. She was seated underneath a tree, nibbling at an apple she'd found. Hearing the sound of footsteps her ears twitched, and she glanced over to see who was there, smiling at the sight of the attractive couple coming her way.

"Well well, this is a pleasant surprise," she greeted as they approached.

"Pleasant, right…" Ría replied in a dry, displeased tone.

"Uh, sure…" Kelvin said, shaking his head to not think about it further and quickly changing the subject. "We came here to get your help with something… or rather, someone."

"My help, hm? What is it you need?" Mya asked, looking curious as she set the apple aside.

"Yeah, you see…" Kelvin started to explain, taking a moment to think how he should do so. "I got ambushed by that stupid Typhlosion Cinder you guys warned us about. He beat me up and stole my necklace. I blacked out after that, so I don't know where he went or how to find him… we're hoping maybe you guys can help us out, since I can't let him get away with this." Mya listened to his story intently, sounding a little stunned such a big, strong guy like himself couldn't handle Cinder.

"Hm, I see… well, I can't do much about it personally, but I can get Ace to help. We usually enlist him to scout for Cinder anyway, so if you're serious about looking for him, you should talk to Ace."

"Ah yeah, the little Furret guy we saw before…" Kelvin recalled. "Didn't he say we should come find you if we needed him?"

"Sure did, I'll lead you to him then. If nothing else he can report to you when he finds Cinder or knows where he is." She gave them a faint smile and turned to scurry off, signaling for them to follow along. The Floatzel couple looked to each other for a moment, shrugging and deciding to go with her. After all, she was their only lead on finding Ace anyway. They walked along together through the trees as Mya sniffed around along the ground, checking particular bushes they came across, and stopping to make sure they were still behind her.

"You sure ya know where to find 'im at?" Ría asked in an impatient tone.

"Yeah, of course I do," Mya replied, sounding a little offended. She turned around to look back at them again. "Why, you think you could find him without my help? By all means, go ahead and try if you want to." She stood with a proud smirk across her face.

"Fine, I get it," Ría said with a sigh.

"Good, that's what I want to hear. I don't think he should be much farther now… closing in on one his usual hiding places if my sense of direction is right." Mya kept going on as the couple followed again, eventually seeing a rustling in some bushes up ahead. All of them came to a halt and waited to see if something would pop out, Kelvin readying himself with a Water Gun just in case. After some anxious moments, a furry head emerged with a friendly smile, before the rest of the long striped body slithered out.

"Well well, if it isn't those Floatzel again!" Ace greeted, standing up on his back legs. "Guess I was wrong about you being the type to not need my help, eh?" He snickered a little as he looked in Kelvin's direction. Kelvin clenched a fist and growled lowly.

"Shut up, he ambushed me in the dark of night!" he barked in response. Ría sighed and stood in his way to keep him blocked off.

"Don't mind him, he's just sore," she said.

"Whatever you say, big guy," Ace replied with a chuckle, then turned to Mya. "And always a nice treat seeing you back around, too."

Mya smirked and flicked her tail. "I could say the same, but these guys have got some business with you. Maybe I'll come stop by again later. They can find their way back without me."

"Right, right... see you around, Mya." He waved to her as she scurried off again back where they came from, then turned his attention back to the Floatzel. "Well then, what can I do for you two anyway?"

"Simple, we want your help tracking down that fucking bastard Cinder," Kelvin said in a matter of fact tone. "That asshole jumped me while I was alone, beat me up, and stole my necklace. I won't let him get away with that, so I'm looking to get it back from him."

"Really now?" Ace replied with a smirk, looking him over as he explained. "I see you're quite serious about this... it isn't often folks come to me deliberately trying to find Cinder, they're usually trying to avoid him. But hey, I can do my best for the right price."

"A price, huh? What do ya want?" quipped Ría.

"Hm... for a job like this, I could accept a payment of some berries... assuming folks like you hunt berries, too," Ace answered. He turned his back to them and rubbed along his chin to think it over further. "For each day I'm needed for this job, I think 5 berries should suffice. Any kind really, doesn't matter. How does that sound to you?"

"It's fine by me, as long as we find his ass and bring him some justice. Just come find me by my tree down near the river when you've got something to report, and maybe I'll get you the berries there if I got them on me. Is that fair?" Kelvin replied, keeping a stern look on his face as he stared at the Furret.

"Yeah, that'll work. I'll be sure to let you know any time I see him around and where to find him... the rest I'll leave up to you," Ace said with a smile, turning back around to approach them. He extended his paw out as he looked at Kelvin. "I should warn you, though... you don't know what you're messing with getting involved with a guy like Cinder. Good luck to the both of you." Kelvin reached out and shook his paw, before Ría reluctantly did the same.

"Mh, great... now let's get out of here, ya need to relax before things get any worse..." she grumbled, turning to walk away after the shake. Kelvin slowly nodded before turning to follow her off, going back the way Mya led them before. Ace waved for a moment, then got caught up staring at their back ends as they walked away. He smirked to himself and turned back around to go back in his bush again, thinking to himself "Man, what I wouldn't give to have a piece of either of them... those are some fine looking Floatzels."

They arrived back at Kelvin's usual tree by the river soon after, as Ría helped Kelvin to sit down against it. She stood back up and looked him over again for a moment, shaking her head at the visible bruises that had formed from his fight with Cinder the night before.

"Here, just get some rest n' don't do anything crazy... I'll come check on ya later, m'kay?" Ría said, then stood back up again.

"Sure thing... thanks for the help, Ría, I really appreciate it..." Kelvin replied. He leaned back against the tree and folded his arms behind his head as she headed off on her way again. He stared out over the river across to the other side, thinking to himself about that night. "I wonder if I could've took him if he didn't ambush me like that... I'll find out soon enough, I'm sure..." He let out a sigh and rested his head back on his arms, slowly sliding his eyes closed to listen to the sound of the river flowing. Suddenly he heard something nearby in the bushes, like someone was around. Alertly he opened his eyes and looked around. "Now what is it?" There was no answer, things stayed quiet. He shrugged and went back to trying to relax. But then, the sound came back; only it felt closer than before. Kelvin tried not to worry about it, figuring it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. A few anxious moments later, he could feel a presence near him, like someone was watching him. He opened his eyes again to look around, omitting a low growl with a warning. "Show yourself!" He waited a moment, before finally the small figure of a familiar red Pachirisu stumbled out from one of the bushes.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you, sir..." Scaevola apologized as he nervously came forward, stopping down in front of him. "I was just going along looking for something to eat, a-and I noticed you here..." Kelvin sighed and settled down, adjusting his position a little to get comfortable.

"Really now? What kind of food?" he asked, an idea churning in his brain.

"Oh, well, anything really..." Scae began, still sounding nervous. "Nuts, berries, that kind of thing..."

"Berries, huh? Hm..." Kelvin thought further about it, then smiled down at the young Pachirisu. "Say, uhh... what was your name again?"

"I'm Scaevola, sir..."

"Ah, right, Scaevola... your friend Ace there said he'd help me find Cinder if I gave him some berries each day, and as you can see, I'm not in much condition to do that..." Kelvin began to explain, a smirk coming over his face.

"You're... looking for Cinder...? But why?" Scaevola looked more frightened now than before.

"Because that fucker stole something special of mine, and I want it back. As you can see, I had a little run-in with him last night..." Scae finally took a moment to examine his body closer, seeing what he meant by that from all the bruises. His eyes grew wide in shock as he looked.

"Wow, you do look in pretty bad shape... does it still hurt?"

"Eh, not too much now. Ría helped me feel better with some berries before, but it wasn't something I hoped to have happen when I moved here. I've dealt with pain a lot worse than this in my old home from all kinds of fights."

"Oh my... no wonder you look so strong... but that's good it doesn't hurt still..."

"Yeah, but anyway..." Kelvin sat back up some more and looks down to Scae. "Point is, I was thinking maybe you could help me out here. What do you say about fetching some berries for me to give Ace until we find Cinder?"

"Oh, well... I mean, I guess I could... but what would I get for doing so?" Scae curiously looked back down to Kelvin's feet, unable to keep his attention away from them forever. He shook his head to try and get his thoughts off them.

"Whatever you want, I guess. Right now I just want to find that bastard so I'm not worried about the price. So if anything sounds good to you, just tell me," Kelvin responded, not noticing what Scae was looking at.

"Hm... maybe I could, uhh..." Scae trailed off, trying to muster up the courage to ask about it. "M-maybe get a chance with your f-feet...?" He blushed nervously at the suggestion, expecting to get hit and braced himself for it. But instead, Kelvin raised an eyebrow, or the closest thing he had to them, staring curiously between Scae and his feet. Finally he shrugged and said, "Eh, sure. If that's really all you want from me for this favor, I'm fine with it. But what exactly do you want with my feet?" Scae looked a bit surprised by the reaction, smiling and nodding.

"Well, I l-love giving foot massages and other kinds of stuff like that... I r-really like your feet, too... th-they look nice like you do, s-sir..." He blushed even more, growing more nervous now. "And I guess maybe if I can keep a couple of the berries for myself to eat, too, that'd be fine..." Kelvin couldn't help but smirk a bit and give a reassuring nod.

"Fine by me, as long as you get me five berries a day for Ace to take. You do that, and you'll get some fun with my feet like you want," he said, teasingly lifting one foot to poke at Scae's chest. Scae blushed and nodded with a smile as well.

"Okay, sounds good. I'll make sure I find some for both of us." His stomach growled again at him and he nervously looked down, putting his paw over it. "Uhh, m-maybe I should leave you alone now... I still need to find something to eat, too..." Kelvin chuckled a little and settled back against the tree again.

"Go ahead, I need some time to relax anyway. Don't forget our deal now." Scaevola nodded again, gave one last look to the Floatzel's feet, then turned and scurried off into the forest again. Kelvin let out a sigh of relief at having that taken care of, slowing closing his eyes again to get back to where he was before. In a matter of minutes, the tired Floatzel drifted off to sleep, getting some much-needed rest finally. Once his body felt better, he'd get cracking on making himself stronger to prepare for Cinder. With how easily he got handled last time, it was necessary to do if he wanted to stand a chance. But this wasn't the time to worry about it, at least not yet.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A week passed by with occasional updates given from Ace every day or two. To Kelvin's dismay, it wasn't anything he wanted to hear. Each time he handed over the berries Scaevola collected, only to hear the same line. "Still no sign of him yet, he must be taking time off to rest himself." But he was determined not to give up that easily. That necklace was very important to him; he couldn't just let some big bully come take it away from him like that. Never mind the pain and suffering he'd been inflicting on others for so long, just based on the accounts Mya and the others had given.

Kelvin climbed up from the river after a nice long swim to relax and calm his mind, shaking off the excess water from his fur. He let out a sigh as he looked down at his reflection, seeing his bare neck again, a painful reminder of what Cinder had stolen.

"Maybe I'll go take a walk, no use sitting around doing nothing," he muttered and walked off. His body felt much better now after his run-in with the powerful shiny Typhlosion, making it much easier to swim and walk around like he was used to without any pain. It was a quiet day, with a few birds chirping in the sky and the sun shining down through the tree's cover. He thought briefly about what Ría might be up to right about now, and if he should maybe see if she wanted to do anything together. She did need more time to warm up to him, after all.

Then his mind started to wander further... from simple thoughts of sitting together and enjoying each other's company, up to cuddling. Then having that cuddling leading to something a little more... intimate. Putting his paws all over that slender, well-toned, beautiful body of hers... rubbing all along her chest and down her back... Kelvin could feel himself getting excited by the ideas, until suddenly...

"Ack, get away!" a voice shrieked nearby. Kelvin snapped out of his fantasy world and stopped to look around.

"Huh? What's going on?" he shouted in surprise. Some noise nearby caught his attention, looking in that general direction. "Sounded like it came from over there, like someone's in trouble... I'd better check it out!" Wasting no more time, he ran that way, and hearing the sounds more clearly now. It sounded like someone was in a fight, but he couldn't tell who just yet.

"You won't get me that easily!" the voice shouted again, a distinctly feminine tone speaking out. For some reason it sounded like someone Kelvin had heard before, but he couldn't exactly tell whom. He took position behind a nearby tree using a bush for cover to look and see before jumping in. To his surprise, it was that Lopunny girl he and Ría met before.

'What was her name again, Cinnamon?' Kelvin thought to himself. Now didn't look like the time to ask, she seemed caught up trying to fight off a Growlithe. He watched closely, trying to figure out if he should help or if she had it under control. It leapt at her with his jaws wide open, as Cinnamon tried to jump back away from him. But he caught her on the leg and bit down hard.

"Gah! L-let go of me!" she shouted, bringing down a hard elbow into the back of the Growlithe's head. The force of the blow was enough to release him from her leg, but it refused to give up so easily. Even through the pain in her leg, she stood strong and waited for him. He charged again, but this time she reacted before her assailant could get close, bringing her foot up fast to kick him hard in the jaw. The Fire-type Pokémon flew back through the air, crashing hard to the ground in a heap, struggling to get back up.

"Wow... that's one powerful kick she has..." Kelvin uttered quietly, in awe at both the strength of the kick and the reaction time it took for her to get it off. Not to mention doing it with one leg not at 100%. Cinnamon seemed to let up from seeing her opponent staying down, as if leaving it at that. The Growlithe tried to stand again, but his legs were shaky. He tried to walk back towards her again, growling lowly.

"Y-you're not getting rid of me that easy, runt!" he shouted, rearing his head back to try and shoot an Ember attack at her. Cinnamon saw it coming and hopped out of the way, before bolting forward and delivering a mighty punch into the Growlithe's face, right in the nose. He stumbled backwards from the blow, falling down on his side and groaning in pain.

"That oughta teach you to try attacking me again!" Cinnamon responded, barely even sounding tired after that. She flicked an ear, hearing someone coming up from behind, and without thinking swung her leg around for a roundhouse kick. "Ack, stay away!" Before Kelvin knew it, her foot was colliding with his face, sending him stumbling to the side as well. He had tried to come out from the bush to check on her after watching, not anticipating such a reaction.

"Gah!" he exclaimed, groaning painfully as he tried to keep his balance. He rubbed his cheek as he tried to look towards her, wincing from the stinging sensation. "Geez, some greeting that is..."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there!" Cinnamon apologized, rushing over to his side quickly and helping keep him steady. "Are you okay? I hope I didn't hurt you too badly..."

"Ugh, should've given me some kind of warning before you do that... could break someone's jaw with a kick like that..." Kelvin groaned, balancing on her until he could hold himself up again.

"But if I did that, the person sneaking up on me will know what's coming..." she answered, not quite catching what he meant. "That's my natural reaction if I sense someone behind me, but usually I can stop myself before I make contact if I see who it is first. I'm really sorry about that, though."

"It's alright, don't worry about it too much..." Kelvin assured. "Besides, your leg looks like it could use some attention, too. Maybe I could help you with that." He motioned at the wound the Growlithe had left, which was starting to bleed now. She looked down at it, almost startled by it.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that, I'd appreciate the help, really," she said with a friendly smile, trying to hide her nervousness from him. They were interrupted by the sound of the Growlithe slowly coming back to his feet, almost stumbling as he walked away gingerly.

"That's the last time I take hunting advice from that red and yellow beast..." he muttered under ragged breath. Cinnamon twitched one of her ears, catching word of it. Kelvin appeared to hear it, too, as he rushed over to stop the Growlithe, feeling like it sounded familiar to him.

"Whoa, hold on a second... what's that about a red and yellow beast?" he asked. "Sounds strangely familiar to me..."

"Yeah, me too..." Cinnamon chimed in, as she turned to look back at them, too. She seemed curious about it, though a little fearful as well, like she knew who it was and was afraid to hear she was right...

"Ugh, just some... big, fierce Pokemon I ran into before... I was hunting for food for my family, and he told me that Lopunny are pretty weak and really delicious... but apparently he lied to me about that, you're anything but weak..." The Growlithe finished explaining. "Now get out of my way..." he barked before making his way off again, clearly still feeling the effects of the battle. Kelvin looked back to Cinnamon, who seemed a little petrified by it.

"Hm... you don't think he meant Cinder, do you? I don't know, maybe I'm being quick to judge, but he's just the first "red and yellow, big, fierce beast" that comes to mind for me," he commented, coming back over to her side to check on the wound again.

"It's possible, I guess..." she replied in a quiet tone. She seemed to zone out some, getting lost in thought as she reflected on what happened.

"Well, wait here and try to stay safe while I get some stuff for your wounds," Kelvin stated as he got up. She didn't respond, but gave a slow nod to acknowledge it, so he headed off to search. Cinnamon sat there looking down at the ground, keeping her leg turned to watch the bleeding wound. She didn't want to show it but when that Growlithe first appeared before, she was scared it wasn't alone and kept expecting more to appear. It made her uncomfortable to see one again, especially such a vicious and hungry one.

"I wonder... c-can I trust him enough to tell him about it...?" she quietly asked herself. It was a painful story to remember, even though it'd been long enough to not bother her as much as it used to. Kelvin seemed like a friendly guy to her, and trustworthy above all, surely he'd be willing to listen. A few minutes passed by before she heard bushes rattling behind her, signaling someone was coming. Alertly she turned her head to look, her ear twitching. "Huh? Who's there?"

"It's just me, calm down," Kelvin answered as he emerged from the thicket of bushes and trees, cradling some berries in his arms. "I got various kinds I could find, since I'm not sure which ones you like best. But most importantly found some Oran berries to help out." He came by her side again to sit down, setting the berries next to her.

"Oh, thank you..." Cinnamon sighed in relief. She glanced to the pile of assorted berries, picking up a few of the Oran berries first to start on.

"As for that cut, we're going to have to do something with that..." Kelvin said. "Can't just leave it open like that, after all." Cinnamon looked around as she sat back, eating the soft berry slowly. Scanning the area, she spotted a Caterpie crawling up to a tree branch nearby, and after she finished with the berry, pointed up towards it.

"How about that Caterpie there...? We could get it to use String Shot, right?"

"Eh?" Kelvin looked where she was directing, seeing it up between the leaves of the tree now. "Hey, yeah, that could work. First, let me clean it up for you, too." The Floatzel moved down closer to the wound and being careful, shot a Water Gun to wash it up. He stood up and pulled a leaf from the tree behind them to dry it off somewhat, which caused her to wince somewhat. Finishing up he looked over his handiwork with a smile. "There, now to coax that Caterpie to wrap it up..." He turned his attention back to the tree branch again, making sure it was still up there after the slight delay.

"What do you suggest we do, Kelvin?" she asked curiously, shifting her attention to him again. She picked up another berry to begin eating, feeling the pain slowly soothed by the berry's healing effects.

"I think I got an idea... but I'd suggest maybe standing up first, so that there's a better chance it hits where we want." Cinnamon nodded and got up as she ate, using the tree for balance. She watched as Kelvin walked across the small clearing to the other tree, looking up at the Caterpie as it sat perched on the branch, then glanced back to where Cinnamon was to line himself up for what he had planned. "Alright, hope you're ready for it... I'm gonna try to dodge the attack and if I got this right, it should get your leg. Let's hope this works..." He took hold of the tree's sturdy base, taking a short breath before using his strength to shake the tree violently. The Caterpie struggled to cling to the branch in a helpless effort to stay put, soon crashing down to the ground with an angry squeal. It got upright again, staring angrily at its offender. Kelvin backed away a few feet as it fell down, making sure it'd use the move with some range, and taunted it.

Growing more angry that he was taunting it after shaking it from the tree, the Caterpie made a small growl and stood up to fire a String Shot at him, hoping to teach him a lesson for that. But Kelvin swiftly jumped to the side as the attack came his way, missing him and wrapping around the wounded Lopunny's leg as planned. Kelvin turned to look towards her, happy to see the plan work out right.

"There, it worked just like I thought," he said with a proud look. Moments later he felt something ram into his ankle, almost taking that foot out from under him. "Gah! The fuck was that?" Regaining himself, he looked down to see the Caterpie, which had attempted to Tackle him out of its anger.

"Oh my, looks like you got it mad..." Cinnamon chuckled, watching it try to attack him like that. It tried once more to use Tackle, this time headbutting Kelvin in the stomach from leaping off the ground. Stumbling back a couple of steps, he eyed the Caterpie closely.

"Yeah, and if it keeps that up, I'll be angry, too..." As it tried to lunge for him again, he grabbed it and lifted it off the ground, causing it to squeal and squirm in frustration. "Gah, calm down, you little bastard! I'm just putting you back in the tree!" He jogged over to the tree before it could escape his grasp, putting it back on the tree to leave it alone. "There, glad that's over..." he sighed and walked back to sit by Cinnamon, as the Caterpie went back into its tree to relax on a higher branch, still unhappy.

"That was a lot more trouble than I expected it to be... but at least we got my wound covered..." Cinnamon said. She finished up on the berries as Kelvin checked on the makeshift bandage, catching a glimpse the odd marking on her hip that he hadn't really noticed before.

"Yeah, I guess so... mind if I ask what this marking is for on your hip? It looks pretty interesting..." Kelvin asked, sitting back again to listen. She gasped for a moment, a little choked up by the question, but she slowly regained herself and looked to him.

"Well, you see... it's a sign for tenderness, and the one on my forehead is for trust. They were given to me by my tribe when I was a child... many of us had symbols like it given to us..." Cinnamon began to explain. She turned her head to let him see the other marking, in case he hadn't seen it before. "They're like reminders of where we came from in a way, if that makes sense..."

"Oh, that's pretty cool," Kelvin replied, smiling to her some as he sat back, feeling like the bandage was all set. "So, where is this tribe of yours at? I don't think I've seen another Lopunny around here besides you since I arrived in this forest." Cinnamon fell silent for a moment, staring back at the ground again and pinned her ears back.

"I guess I can tell you my story then, if you'd like... it was maybe 7 or 8 months ago..." she began as Kelvin leaned in to listen.

Deep in the forest was a collection of Buneary and Lopunny, living together as a tribe, all bearing special markings to show traits and unity to where they came from. Cinnamon and her parents lived with them for a long while, and she had been happy with life there. She had become a Lopunny already and was still adjusting to her newfound strength that came with it along with friends. They hoped to never need such self-defense tactics and power, but it was always good to stay sharp and be prepared after all. Her parents continued to help her train and practice whenever able; being sure she learned everything they knew to keep her safe. But one day, Cinnamon and the others sensed something wasn't right... they weren't sure what or why, but things just weren't feeling the same. She was sitting with her parents in their den, relaxing and having some berries for their meal, when suddenly there was some shouting outside.

"Danger alert! Everybody be on guard, there are reports of attackers coming this way from our scouts!" warned a Lopunny outside. Panicked by the startling news, everyone was scrambling outside to either escape or prepare to defend the tribe. Before long there were loud barks coming closer, only getting louder with each passing second, then finally appearing from behind the trees was a large group of Growlithe with a couple Arcanines in back to lead.

"Be careful, we're being attacked by Growlithes!" shouted one of the main guards of the tribe. "Save all the Buneary, get them to safety! Men shall defend this area!" Widespread fear flowed through the tribe like wild fire as many tried to run the opposite direction of the attack with the younger members of the tribe. News caught up to Cinnamon and her parents as they came out of the den, looking for the best escape route.

"Quick, get out of here while you can! I'll hold them back to give you guys time!" her dad shouted, not waiting for a response before darting off to help the others in the front lines. Cinnamon and her mother gave a short nod before going away from there. Tortured screams of pain and agony rained down on them in the back as the Growlithes aggressively attacked, burning and destroying the homes. The two Lopunny thought they were safe, in the clear from all the carnage, but suddenly a stray Growlithe jumped out and cornered the two of them.

"Well now, don't you two look delicious? You'll make a fine meal!" he called out, charging towards Cinnamon with his mouth wide ready to bite. Cinnamon hopped backwards away from him in a defensive maneuver as her mother quickly stepped in the way protectively.

"Go on, Cinnamon! I'm not about to let this beast harm you! Your father and I raised you to be a strong girl, and your safety is important to us, so I'll protect you while you get out of here!" she quickly explained, giving a swift kick to knock the oncoming Growlithe away to buy them time.

"But mom... are you sure you'll both be alright...?" Cinnamon asked nervously.

"Don't worry about us, honey, just get to safety!" she barked back, keeping a close eye on the Growlithe as it recovered with an angry stare for them, barking loudly and viciously. Cinnamon gave a faint nod, realizing there was no other way and quickly turned to run off into the bushes to find a safe route. The terrified screams of her old friends and other family continued, echoing through the trees as she ran. She tried not to look back at anything happening back there, afraid of what she might see that she didn't want to, afraid that someone was coming for her...

Eventually she came to a clearing in the forest and the sounds had all stopped. No more barking, screaming, anything of the sort... it was just quiet. She took a seat under a shady tree to the side, catching her breath and gathering her thoughts. Everything happened so fast, she barely had time to think before. One moment they were sitting together happily eating their meal peacefully... the next, there was warning from their scouts about danger approaching, and suddenly those Growlithe appeared to attack them. She didn't want to think of what they might've done to her parents, to her friends, to everyone she'd known and grew up with. For all she knew, none of the others who hadn't left ahead of time with the Buneary, didn't make it out at all.

"Oh, I really hope my parents and friends are fine... but it'd be too dangerous to go back and check..." Cinnamon tried to collect herself and plan what to do next. In the distance she could hear some extremely faint barks again for a brief moment, but she couldn't tell if that was just her imagination or not. "Maybe I should get out of here and look for somewhere else to go then..." Then she walked off again into the depths of the forest...

"And that's how I ended up here in this area of the forest, and where I got my markings from. I've mostly tried to stay under the radar since then because it's hard to trust people." Cinnamon finished her story and looked over to Kelvin slowly.

"Wow, that's pretty terrible to hear... I'm sorry you had to go through something like that," Kelvin responded in a solemn tone. He thought about it for a moment, trying to see if there might be a connection between this Growlithe attack today and the one months ago. "I wonder... do you think someone maybe set up both of these attacks? Or maybe someone suggested going after your tribe?"

"I don't know... that would be rather difficult to believe, I guess, but at the same time hard deny..." she answered. Though it was an interesting point to make; the Growlithe from before mentioned being told Lopunny were easy prey, could it have been the same case with her tribe all that time ago? The clues suggested that Cinder helped set up this one, but could it truly be him behind the first one, too? It was a lot to think about for both of them, and could be entirely possible as well. But how could they prove such a thing? It wouldn't be easy to figure out if they were truly curious, so for now it was probably best to leave it at that.

"Well, either way," Kelvin continued, trying to break the silence. "You're alright now and your leg should heal just fine with that makeshift bandage. Will you be fine on your own?"

"I think so, though might be tough to go far until my leg feels a little better," Cinnamon answered, lightly rubbing at it a bit.

"Hm... perhaps I could stick around for the night with you, like a body guard. Make sure nobody tries to take advantage of you while you heal up."

"You'd really want to do that for me...?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't want anything worse happening to a nice girl like yourself, after all." He gave a reassuring smile as he stayed by her side. Though he did have to remind himself he had Ría to think about, so needed to be careful he didn't make any advances on her or even give the impression he was.

"Oh, well, thank you, Kelvin... I'd appreciate having you to help then... as long as you're sure about it," Cinnamon said with a shy blush. He gave a soft nod and lightly pet her shoulder some.

"No problem, I'm sure Ría won't mind, I'm just helping out a friend." The two settled down together by a tree and relaxed, eating a few of the leftover berries Kelvin collected before.

Later that night, Ría was trudging along through a thicker part of the forest, using the flickering moonlight peering down between the leaves to guide her way. She was hunting for Cinder to see if she could reason with him about getting the necklace back for Kelvin, so he'd stop making a big deal of it. As she moved carefully, she suddenly began to pick up a thick, smoky, musky scent up ahead. She continued along slowly, the smell only growing stronger, causing her to recoil a little bit.

"Blech, somethin' sure smells rotten..." she muttered to herself, waving a paw to waft the scent away from her nose. Up ahead there appeared to be a brighter light, like a fire, on the ground in a small clearing. Carefully Ría moved in closer, ducking behind a tree to get a good look at who was there, and saw a large Pokémon there with yellow and red fur and flames on his back. "Hm, guessin' that's him..."

Cautiously she came out from the tree, advancing a little more, greeted by the sound of low growling, ripping, and biting coming from where the creature was sitting. It was all accompanied with some mumbling as well, insinuating whoever was there was eating or tasting something. Ría got a better look as the light from his back and the night sky made it easier to see, noticing it appeared to be Cinder. The smell she'd noticed earlier was strong as ever, but now was shared with the smell of cooked flesh and some fresh blood. It made her curious, and her attention wandered to the source, noticing a dismembered body of what once was a Stantler sitting by Cinder's side. She winced and cringed at the sight, but finally mustered up the courage to step out from her hiding place and in front of Cinder after taking a deep breath.

The sound of footsteps was enough to still Cinder. His eyes grew hooded with annoyance as he slowly and tensely pulled his head into Ría's direction. With his sharp and bloodthirsty eyes furrowed into a somewhat frustrated glare, he lowered the cooked Stantler leg and stilled the approaching Floatzel with a forced "What the hell are you doing here? Can't you see I'm trying to eat?"

Her pupils shrunk, staying still for a moment as if a blade was held to her throat. Realizing it's too late to back out, the Floatzel took in another deep, albeit shaky, breath and batted her eyes a little, trying to relax. Even then, her voice is still tinged with awkwardness. "... you're that fiery asshole who beat up Kelvin, right?"

Cinder could do nothing more than scoff, shaking his head as he glances down at the leg hungrily. "Doesn't sound familiar, nor do I give a damn..."

The passive carelessness provokes Ría into raising her voice a little more, her fists close to clenching. "Male Floatzel... used 'ta have a necklace, but said you took it from 'im... and then roughed him up. Ring any bells?"

" Oh, that." Again Cinder could make a few more unimpressed gestures as he proceeds to bite into his meal, panting through his nostrils. "He didn't need that piece of crap... a Slowpoke could make something better than that... 'sides, it's not like it makes him any tougher..." he mutters lowly, swallowing deeply and then puffing smoke out his nose. He then turns his gaze slightly to Ría. "In fact... he probably just uses it to cover his own weakness."

Weakness? For all Ría knows, Kelvin is definitely not a weakling. A pushover? Perhaps, but he is more than capable, which is enough to shake her head and raise her voice a little more, to defend him. "You'd know about being weak, huh? For being a damn bully?"

Cinder's eyes winced a little, though he wasn't planning on attacking. He just closed his eyes and muttered after gulping down another greedy mouthful of meat, " ... s'probably for his best that I broke it before he gets himself a real ass-kicking from other losers that are better than him."

"Oh, losers, huh..." Her voice lingered for a moment before thickening her tone. "... like you?"

The large, shiny Typhlosion paused, then rotated his thick neck in her direction, his expression stiff and cold. His voice, however, remained low, but still had power to it. "What did you say?"

She knew that was a step too far. Her spine shuddered with lethal anticipation based on her challenging words, but she didn't come this far verbally dancing with this beast just to run away with her tails between her legs. With a low, shaky breath and a tightened, focused gaze, she resumed, "I said, losers..." she squirted a thick blast of water into the dirt next to her, creating a thick mud puddle, "... like YOU!"

With that, the female Floatzel swiftly raked her claw into the mud and sprayed it in Cinder's direction with one swipe, splashing the earthly sludge in his face, over the fire, on his half-eaten leg, and ultimately landing on the slowly-rotting remainder of the Stantler corpse. Her scoop was so thick, that worms and a few smaller insects were seen crawling anxiously all over the deceased body, ultimately ruining what could've been Cinder's leftovers for another meal.

Cinder snarled as he took the Mud Slap to the face, the sting of moistened earth forcing his twitching eye to close. However, his true anger began to boil as he looked over at his leftover kill. The remaining carcass of the Stantler was tainted... SOILED... by the wet earth slathered on it. Most of it has been splashed into the torn, open wound where the removed leg was located. He watched in rage, disgust and absolute frustration as this was the final kick to the teeth for him; several bugs and worms writhing over and inside the corpse to overtake the kill, infesting it with further germs and rendering it inedible. The large, powerful Typhlosion slowly turned to Ría, stomping over to her with his head lowered and contorted face covered in shadow, leaving only his eyes to be clearly seen. He grabbed the Floatzel tightly by the neck, lifted her up just a few inches above the ground, and scowled at her.

"I. Wasn't. Finished." With that seething remark, he pulled his arm back and RUSHED his claw across Ría's face with enough force to push her away and out of his grip. Crying sharply from agony, Ría was sent sliding along the dirt, left to writhe on her side as she almost pathetically placed her paw over her bleeding, ravaged cheek in order to suppress the flow of blood. She slowly brought herself back onto her feet with a little staggering, only to have the wind punched out of her from a giant blow to her gut.

"G-GCKH...!" She slowly curled forward as air escaped her lungs, realizing the aggressive Typhlosion landed a solid knee blow to her stomach. The needlessly agitated Typhlosion couldn't even summon a smile unto his dangerously flustered, scowling face after seeing the poor Floatzel suffer so deeply. He grabbed her again by the neck, this time with both of his claws, lifting her just above the ground once more. His hell-bound gaze pierced Ría's pained golden eyes.

"It'd be a pain in the ass if you bother me like this again... " he muttered lowly, feeling the blood from Ría's right cheek flow over one of his claws, "... so maybe I should break your neck right now." Almost helplessly, Ría tried to keep herself balanced by pulling down on Cinder's arms to alleviate the stress on her throat a little; yet every time she struggled or tried to pull the Typhlosion's claws away, he slowly tightened his grip back up in return. She could barely snarl back at him with asymmetrically squinted eyes, panting desperately.

"S-s... stop... l-let go of me, y-you... you ugly bastard...!" she weakly cried out at him. At this point, insults wouldn't matter to Cinder, as it would not make a difference. However, her defiance barely catches his curiosity beneath his hardly-contained, seeping fury.

"You don't like me touching you, I see..." At this, he slowly set Ría down to the ground, then with a sudden burst of speed, he snakes and locks his arms across her frame VERY tightly against his body, contracting the muscles in his strong arms to squeeze the remaining air out of her. She didn't have quite the strength to struggle very well against his size, but Cinder gradually strengthened the squeeze on her regardless. "I may as well break your ribs instead, you little bitch!"

Consciousness was fleeting from the poor Floatzel as she did her best to go against Cinder's efforts, even attempting to claw and gnaw at his arms. Unfortunately, her eyes and head began to felt hazy as the crushing grip was worsening, crying out from strain. Her throat is too contracted from the Typhlosion's grappling that she can't even muster a measely Water Gun to spray him with, tearing up somewhat. "S-s-stop... t-touching me...! Let... g-gah, let me gooo...!" The fiery beast kept rocking Ría around in his arms until he heard her agonizing wails of pain slowing down a little as he glares down at her silently.

"Fine... I'll let you go..." he slowly lifted his body off of Ría's back, then suddenly contorted back over her. "... after THIS!" Suddenly, a crackling surge of electricity drove over Cinder's body as he unleashed a close-ranged, concentrated Thunderbolt into Ría's weakened body with a triumphant roar, ultimately blasting her away from the force after letting go.

Ría, now numb and in a critical amount of pain from the squeeze and the shock, could only lay there, whimpering and panting quietly in a vaguely pleading sense. Tears softly rode over her cheeks, dripping across the wound on her face as she futilely attempted to pull herself up. The paralysis made this impossible, which only made her feel worse... and useless.

Cinder marched over her vulnerable body, menacingly glaring down as he casted his shadow over Ría, scoffing at her. " ... get in my way again, and you'll beg for me to kill you." He gave her a swift kick in the side for good measure, and then picked up some of the leftover mud and splashed it on her face, stinging the facial wound a little before turning around, hesitantly grabbing and pulling the carcass by the other leg and began to tread off elsewhere, planning to bury the now-worthless corpse.

Grunting, Ría's numb and aching form remained as it does now, laying on her stomach with her dazed and heavily traumatized face glancing blankly to the side, as if wishing for mercy... or to redo this encounter. Soon, the fatigue grows too strong to fight, and so she slowly and fearfully closes her eyes, hoping she can open them again…


End file.
